In handicapping this Super Bowl, I’m reminded of that scene from the Hannibal Lecter movies, where Hannibal’s being interviewed by the young Ms. Starling. Hannibal asks the green FBI agent something like “what is he at his ESSENCE, Clarice”? And after she makes two or three dismal guesses, Hannibal says sumthin’ like “NO, Clarice, he COVETS”.
What is Arizona at its essence? THE PASS! Kurt Warner behind a nice big offensive line throwing to the likes of the finest receivers in the land, Larry Fitzgerald and the tough, sure-handed Anquan Boldin, the guy with plates in his face and just keeps coming. And, if you cover them, there’s this troublesome rookie named Breaston.
Yeah, late in the season and in the playoffs, they took the wraps off Edgerrin James and ran the ball, but it was strategic-type running, done only so that they could go back to what they do best. PASS!
And yeah, they score via the run sometimes, with that big bruiser Hightower. They’ll use him on a third or fourth and one. And then, when it’s first down time again, they’ll ordinarily go back to the pass. Once again, in the playoffs, they did some different things with James, but they usually ran after they had already killed their opponent with the pass.
Incredible as it seems to me, their opponents in the playoffs seem not to have respected their passing game enough. A simple thing like double coverage, nobody really did. Even when Boldin was hurt and there was just Fitzgerald and Breaston, Carolina and Philadelphia let him run free against, usually, a tiny little cornerback.
As timing is so important in the passing game, you’d think one of these teams would have checked these big guys at the line. But no, nobody did. And yeah, I know they put these guys in motion so it’s harder to give them a shot at the line of scrimmage, but, still, there were plenty of opportunities to jam these guys and nobody did.
Another way to stop the pass is via the rush, of course. With Warner, getting a guy in his face is most effective, so he has to scramble, usually with just one hand on the ball, extended, looking downfield. But nobody really seemed to focus a rush up the middle.
Atlanta was just overmatched to my mind. Nobody expected them to win and they didn’t. Surprisingly though, they made the score respectable. Carolina “Delhommed” itself to death while trying to execute the stupidest game plan ever devised by anyone against any team. Oh, and this just in, Carolina just hired a new defensive coordinator.
And Philadelphia? They came as close as anyone to beating them but let themselves fall hopelessly behind before charging back and then fizzling. They weren’t able to stop the pass or run. They blitzed quite a bit too, but they were wild, chancy blitzes, hoping against hope Warner wouldn’t find the open guy. He did.
Okay, Clarice, what is the Steelers ESSENCE? DEEE-FENSE!! Yeah, they run the ball, and yeah, they have Big Ben running around, usually on third and long, finding a receiver. But they’re all about defense. The single most consistent thing about the black and gold is that defense.
Zone blitz? Ever hear of it? Of course you have, everybody has. You couldn’t NOT hear it if you tried. Dick LeBeau? Same thing. Steelers and LeBeau, it’s like love and marriage, ham and cheese (I do go on); you get the idea. Yeah, Mike Tomlin might be quite a coach and a hell of a motivator, but the guy who makes every defensive call is Dick LeBeau.
In the zone blitz, you never know who’s coming, but the great thing about it is there’s ALWAYS somebody back. And that “somebody” a lot of times is going to be one of the finest defensive players in the game, a guy named Troy Polamalu.
Ever hear of him? Of course you have, usually in the same breath as “Reed, Harrison and Polamalu”. While they’d make a hell of a law firm, they make even better defense. That Harrison and Polamalu are on the same team makes things even scarier for the Cards, and hopeful for the Steelers.
A few things make me nervous about this game though. One is that a defense almost never can win the game all by themselves. It needs to rest. That goes for any defense. If all a defense gets is pressure and more pressure, it will break.
That’s why Big Ben will be so important in this game, along with Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Willie Parker. Parker might be the most important piece of all in this chess match of a game. Parker’s got to take some pressure off that passing game.
The second thing is that the game pits Tomlin against Whisenhunt, the guy he beat out for the head coaching job in Pittsburgh. There is a revenge factor there, yes, but, even more important, don’t you suppose Whisenhunt knows all about the zone blitz? Ya think he’s heard of Dick LeBeau? Whisenhunt has the advantage of knowing all about the Steelers, offense, defense, and special teams.
The third thing that bothers me is that the Steelers seem to have a little trouble against really good quarterbacks. They’re 0 and 2 this year against the Mannings, for example. They’re 0 and 1 vs McNabb. They only lost one other game, against Tennessee, in a meaningless game.
But I have even more concerns about the Cardinals, and it has to do with team character.
This Cards defense especially has quite a history of lying down. The Steelers never lie down.
The Steelers will get their junk touchdowns. The Cards will score but the Cards won’t be able to run. There will be some three and outs, which will put even more pressure on Warner. The Steelers will take the lead, and when they do, they won’t fold. They are, after all, the Steelers.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Super - Hot Stove and Back
Okay, let’s pretend the Division Championship games were yesterday. Last week didn’t happen. Now I feel better. Now I’ll be able to withstand the stupidity of this media week preceding the Super Duper Bowl, the game played for all the marbles in front of mostly inebriated and debauching corporate suits.
What a comedown from 1969, the last REAL Championship Game. It pitted the champions of two very different and competing Leagues against each other, the Jets and the American Football League against the Colts of the National Football League. After the leagues merged, things just haven’t been the same; the stakes are much lower.
Imagine for a moment in baseball if the World Baseball Classic Champions were to face off against the World Series winners in one game for all the marbles! That’s tantamount to what had been happening from 1967 to 1969. The Jets win against the “unbeatable” Colts forced a merger and, to my mind, a cheapening of the game.
Not that this Super Bowl won’t be a good game; it pits two very different and very talented teams against each other, the Rooneys vs. Bidwill, defense vs. offense. In some ways, it mirrors that famous 1969 matchup. But the two-week layoff and Media Week just leaves me cold. In outright rebellion then, for now, I’ll switch to hot stove mode. I promise to get back to this game on Thursday or Friday.
Thank God for Arod. He’s apparently been de-pantsed by Torre a bit in his new book, and, while I don’t particularly like Arod, at least it’s something fresh and new, or rekindled anyway, in this death week, the second of two.
A-Fraud? Oh, I get it. Torre may not be crazy about Cashman anymore? What a friggin’ surprise. Now let’s move on.
The Yanks are in the process of re-signing Pettite to an incentive-laden one-year contract, one that will earn him anywhere between about 6 and 10 million. Now that’s smart. I love these one-year deals that are actually fair to both parties.
They say that Joba will still be a starter, no matter how many starters the Yankees proceed to sign. Somehow, I doubt that that’s really entirely true, and yet, with Burnet and Sabathia and now Pettite added to Wang coming off an injury, it must be nice to have some insurance.
As well as Joba did last year as a starter, he didn’t really knock my socks off, as he did as that eighth inning guy preserving the game for Mariano Rivera. I’m hoping he becomes that eighth-inning guy again, if only because we’ll get to see him more often, maybe almost every day. With the Yanks new-found pitching and with a rejuvenated lineup, there should be a lot of leads to preserve after seven innings.
The Mets haven’t done much, to the consternation of many Mets fans. Sign Manny? Nah, I still don’t think so. There are some very nice lesser lights out there though, some that offer value without having to assume a heck of a lot of risk. Take Bobby Abreu, for example. He’d be great at Shea, or Citi, whatever. He hits every year like Manny but isn’t nearly the showman and can be had for less.
The Mets could use another hitter for sure, someone to step in when Murphy doesn’t hit, or Delgado should be in the midst of one of his extended slumps. The Mets have more than their share of streaky hitters; almost nobody hits consistently. And, with Church and Murphy/Evans in right and left, another outfielder NOT named Chavez or Alou would be a boon to the offense.
Okay, you don’t like Abreu? How about Adam Dunn? There are some very interesting possibilities still out there, such as Jacque Jones, Brad Wilkerson and how would you like Nomar Garciaparra? He’d be great if just to get Mia Hamm into the stadium!
Then there’s the wasteland at second base. I’m not going to advocate Orlando Hudson, who never seems to really come of age, but Orlando Cabrera can sub at short or second and is an excellent ballplayer, certainly an upgrade over Luis Castillo.
The above is not intended in any way to disparage that other Reyes that less often than not manned the keystone bag; I speak of Argenis Reyes, or course, who, even when he wasn’t hitting, at least made contact, moved the runners over, or did something else to help win the game.
Actually, the Mets don’t really HAVE to do anything. They lost the pennant because they had no relief pitching. They got the two best relief pitchers available in Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz and there’s really no other great ones out there. I have confidence in the Murphy/Evans platoon and think Ryan Church was the cat’s meow until he got hurt.
People mention the catcher too as a weakness. I don’t think so. Schneider will be fine. He was acquired for his defense after all. And, who knows, Ramon Castro might even get healthy two days in a row. And this is the National League we’re talking about; we don’t have to beat the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox or Angels.
Besides, pitching wins World Series. Look at that Arizona Diamondbacks team back in 2001. That duo of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were just too much. It didn’t matter what hitters the opponents put up there.
They say defense wins Super Bowls. But it may not be true this year. This year’s game may go as that 1969 classic did, the one in which the gunslinger Namath eschewed the pass for Matt Snell and a punishing running game. And the Colts in desperation replaced old Earl Morrall with an even older gunslinger of their own, a guy named Johnny Unitas, but it was to no avail.
I can see it in my mind’s eye, Warner either ineffective or hurt, but the replacement gunslinger in this case would be a younger one from USC named Matt Leinart.
What a comedown from 1969, the last REAL Championship Game. It pitted the champions of two very different and competing Leagues against each other, the Jets and the American Football League against the Colts of the National Football League. After the leagues merged, things just haven’t been the same; the stakes are much lower.
Imagine for a moment in baseball if the World Baseball Classic Champions were to face off against the World Series winners in one game for all the marbles! That’s tantamount to what had been happening from 1967 to 1969. The Jets win against the “unbeatable” Colts forced a merger and, to my mind, a cheapening of the game.
Not that this Super Bowl won’t be a good game; it pits two very different and very talented teams against each other, the Rooneys vs. Bidwill, defense vs. offense. In some ways, it mirrors that famous 1969 matchup. But the two-week layoff and Media Week just leaves me cold. In outright rebellion then, for now, I’ll switch to hot stove mode. I promise to get back to this game on Thursday or Friday.
Thank God for Arod. He’s apparently been de-pantsed by Torre a bit in his new book, and, while I don’t particularly like Arod, at least it’s something fresh and new, or rekindled anyway, in this death week, the second of two.
A-Fraud? Oh, I get it. Torre may not be crazy about Cashman anymore? What a friggin’ surprise. Now let’s move on.
The Yanks are in the process of re-signing Pettite to an incentive-laden one-year contract, one that will earn him anywhere between about 6 and 10 million. Now that’s smart. I love these one-year deals that are actually fair to both parties.
They say that Joba will still be a starter, no matter how many starters the Yankees proceed to sign. Somehow, I doubt that that’s really entirely true, and yet, with Burnet and Sabathia and now Pettite added to Wang coming off an injury, it must be nice to have some insurance.
As well as Joba did last year as a starter, he didn’t really knock my socks off, as he did as that eighth inning guy preserving the game for Mariano Rivera. I’m hoping he becomes that eighth-inning guy again, if only because we’ll get to see him more often, maybe almost every day. With the Yanks new-found pitching and with a rejuvenated lineup, there should be a lot of leads to preserve after seven innings.
The Mets haven’t done much, to the consternation of many Mets fans. Sign Manny? Nah, I still don’t think so. There are some very nice lesser lights out there though, some that offer value without having to assume a heck of a lot of risk. Take Bobby Abreu, for example. He’d be great at Shea, or Citi, whatever. He hits every year like Manny but isn’t nearly the showman and can be had for less.
The Mets could use another hitter for sure, someone to step in when Murphy doesn’t hit, or Delgado should be in the midst of one of his extended slumps. The Mets have more than their share of streaky hitters; almost nobody hits consistently. And, with Church and Murphy/Evans in right and left, another outfielder NOT named Chavez or Alou would be a boon to the offense.
Okay, you don’t like Abreu? How about Adam Dunn? There are some very interesting possibilities still out there, such as Jacque Jones, Brad Wilkerson and how would you like Nomar Garciaparra? He’d be great if just to get Mia Hamm into the stadium!
Then there’s the wasteland at second base. I’m not going to advocate Orlando Hudson, who never seems to really come of age, but Orlando Cabrera can sub at short or second and is an excellent ballplayer, certainly an upgrade over Luis Castillo.
The above is not intended in any way to disparage that other Reyes that less often than not manned the keystone bag; I speak of Argenis Reyes, or course, who, even when he wasn’t hitting, at least made contact, moved the runners over, or did something else to help win the game.
Actually, the Mets don’t really HAVE to do anything. They lost the pennant because they had no relief pitching. They got the two best relief pitchers available in Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz and there’s really no other great ones out there. I have confidence in the Murphy/Evans platoon and think Ryan Church was the cat’s meow until he got hurt.
People mention the catcher too as a weakness. I don’t think so. Schneider will be fine. He was acquired for his defense after all. And, who knows, Ramon Castro might even get healthy two days in a row. And this is the National League we’re talking about; we don’t have to beat the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox or Angels.
Besides, pitching wins World Series. Look at that Arizona Diamondbacks team back in 2001. That duo of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were just too much. It didn’t matter what hitters the opponents put up there.
They say defense wins Super Bowls. But it may not be true this year. This year’s game may go as that 1969 classic did, the one in which the gunslinger Namath eschewed the pass for Matt Snell and a punishing running game. And the Colts in desperation replaced old Earl Morrall with an even older gunslinger of their own, a guy named Johnny Unitas, but it was to no avail.
I can see it in my mind’s eye, Warner either ineffective or hurt, but the replacement gunslinger in this case would be a younger one from USC named Matt Leinart.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Mid-Lull - Tennis, Basketball and Hot Stove
Well, here it is again, the annual big lull, that is, the period between the end of the Division Championships and the Super-Duper Bowl. Even worse than that, we’re almost in the direct middle of the lull. What this means for me is that I start watching tennis again, pay more attention to the Knicks and Nets, and even try getting into hockey. The “hot stove” stuff from baseball is almost over, of course, and will Manny Ramirez ever get signed by anyone?
The Australian Open, the first major tennis event of the year, is in full swing now and it’s always interesting to see which established stars are going to bomb and which newcomers will knock our socks off.
This year it seems that Venus Williams has bombed spectacularly. She lost to some great forehands from 20-year old Carla Suarez Navarro while Ana Ivanovic was done in by an even younger Russian, Alisa Kleybanova. There aren’t that many big names left on the board either.
The biggest name, Maria Sharapova, has been hurt for some time of course. Serena Williams is still alive, though just barely from what I saw of her last match, as are some of the old reliables, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova, Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo. But it’ll be exciting to follow some of the up-and-comers, Alize Cornet from France, Victoria Azarenko and the Bondarenko sisters.
I can’t get that excited about the men, not only because they’re, well, men, but it’s always the same guys. How often do I want to hear about Nadal and Federer?
The Knicks may have found a new small forward in Danilo Gallinari. The 6’10” Italian is showing recently why he was a #1 pick with a display of shooting, rebounding and even some defense. David Lee has been showing he can shoot from beyond a few feet lately too, and the combination of the two of them playing together might be just what the Knicks have needed.
I was never too high on Richardson. But now there is Wilson Chandler. And, doing his best Marbury impression at times is little Nate Robinson. Jersey’s Al Harrington provides some height and toughness and can shoot, but not as good as he thinks he can.
But at least it’s interesting basketball, something the Knicks haven’t seen in oh, maybe three or four years now. There’s also talk of Marbury going to Greece. That’d be nice. Oh, and Eddie Curry’s still on the roster, although I wouldn’t expect to see him on the court anytime soon. What more could a Knicks fan ask for?
I think that, in order to really follow professional basketball, you’re forced to pay attention to the local teams. There just isn’t enough information to be had on the other teams. If your name isn’t Kobe or Lebron, the NBA isn’t interested. It’s a shame, really, this star system in the NBA, where rookies can’t get a break and the stars can’t commit any fouls.
And that’s the reason that Brook Lopez has been having a little trouble establishing himself. The league makes it virtually impossible for a rookie, especially a rook unlucky enough to be playing center. The Nets might be in trouble for a while now, as Devin Harris is hurt, Vince Carter seems unexcited, and they get only sporadic play from everyone else.
It’s amazing that their record is as good as it is. Guys such as Keyon Dooling, Bobby Simmons and Yi seem to play well enough in spurts to keep the team from falling totally into oblivion. And Lawrence Frank juggles things up enough to keep everyone on their toes.
At 19-23 now, though, they’re in danger of slipping beneath the Knicks in the standings. The Knicks are 17-24 and seem to be on an upswing. Not so the Nets. If you’re interested in seeing a whole hell of a lot of different combinations on the floor, though, the Nets are the team for you.
As for “hot stove”, there still are some blockbuster things going on. Prince Fielder just signed a 2-year 18 million dollar contract with the Brew Crew and, closer to home, the Phillies re-signed clutch outfielder Jayson Werth. He might be the best utility player on the planet and, as a result, managed to extract a 2-year 10 million dollar agreement from the Phillies.
That Werth contract makes me think we’ll see more of him this year, definitely a bad sign for Mets fans. And the Phils seem quite interested in keeping slugger Ryan Howard happy. He’ll be pulling down something between 14 and 18 million next year. Oh well, at least Mets-killer Pat Burrell will be somewhere else.
The Mets haven’t done much lately, but then they really don’t have to. Everybody’s making a big deal about left field and second base but, really, I’m content to watch Murphy and Evans and Tatis make a go of it. And, hey, Luis Castillo can only get better, right?
You can’t have everything. At least that’s my stance. I’d rather take a chance on that Mets left field situation than have “established” stars such as Damon, Matsui and Nady, although I do wish the Mets had never gotten rid of Nady. And, as much as I like Manny Ramirez, I don’t think I want to see him spend his last few years in New York. I can see another Andruw Jones situation developing.
As good as Manny has been, and as good as he was in his contract year, I can definitely see a guy like that retiring on his next team. Maybe he won’t practice so hard, maybe he won’t run as hard, and, worst of all, maybe he won’t even be as entertaining.
Well, I guess that’s enough to keep me entertained through the feared Media Week at the Super Bowl. I still think Omar Minaya might have an ace up his sleeve, though, and I’m kinda hoping the ace is a somewhat crazy left-hander named Oliver Perez.
The Australian Open, the first major tennis event of the year, is in full swing now and it’s always interesting to see which established stars are going to bomb and which newcomers will knock our socks off.
This year it seems that Venus Williams has bombed spectacularly. She lost to some great forehands from 20-year old Carla Suarez Navarro while Ana Ivanovic was done in by an even younger Russian, Alisa Kleybanova. There aren’t that many big names left on the board either.
The biggest name, Maria Sharapova, has been hurt for some time of course. Serena Williams is still alive, though just barely from what I saw of her last match, as are some of the old reliables, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova, Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo. But it’ll be exciting to follow some of the up-and-comers, Alize Cornet from France, Victoria Azarenko and the Bondarenko sisters.
I can’t get that excited about the men, not only because they’re, well, men, but it’s always the same guys. How often do I want to hear about Nadal and Federer?
The Knicks may have found a new small forward in Danilo Gallinari. The 6’10” Italian is showing recently why he was a #1 pick with a display of shooting, rebounding and even some defense. David Lee has been showing he can shoot from beyond a few feet lately too, and the combination of the two of them playing together might be just what the Knicks have needed.
I was never too high on Richardson. But now there is Wilson Chandler. And, doing his best Marbury impression at times is little Nate Robinson. Jersey’s Al Harrington provides some height and toughness and can shoot, but not as good as he thinks he can.
But at least it’s interesting basketball, something the Knicks haven’t seen in oh, maybe three or four years now. There’s also talk of Marbury going to Greece. That’d be nice. Oh, and Eddie Curry’s still on the roster, although I wouldn’t expect to see him on the court anytime soon. What more could a Knicks fan ask for?
I think that, in order to really follow professional basketball, you’re forced to pay attention to the local teams. There just isn’t enough information to be had on the other teams. If your name isn’t Kobe or Lebron, the NBA isn’t interested. It’s a shame, really, this star system in the NBA, where rookies can’t get a break and the stars can’t commit any fouls.
And that’s the reason that Brook Lopez has been having a little trouble establishing himself. The league makes it virtually impossible for a rookie, especially a rook unlucky enough to be playing center. The Nets might be in trouble for a while now, as Devin Harris is hurt, Vince Carter seems unexcited, and they get only sporadic play from everyone else.
It’s amazing that their record is as good as it is. Guys such as Keyon Dooling, Bobby Simmons and Yi seem to play well enough in spurts to keep the team from falling totally into oblivion. And Lawrence Frank juggles things up enough to keep everyone on their toes.
At 19-23 now, though, they’re in danger of slipping beneath the Knicks in the standings. The Knicks are 17-24 and seem to be on an upswing. Not so the Nets. If you’re interested in seeing a whole hell of a lot of different combinations on the floor, though, the Nets are the team for you.
As for “hot stove”, there still are some blockbuster things going on. Prince Fielder just signed a 2-year 18 million dollar contract with the Brew Crew and, closer to home, the Phillies re-signed clutch outfielder Jayson Werth. He might be the best utility player on the planet and, as a result, managed to extract a 2-year 10 million dollar agreement from the Phillies.
That Werth contract makes me think we’ll see more of him this year, definitely a bad sign for Mets fans. And the Phils seem quite interested in keeping slugger Ryan Howard happy. He’ll be pulling down something between 14 and 18 million next year. Oh well, at least Mets-killer Pat Burrell will be somewhere else.
The Mets haven’t done much lately, but then they really don’t have to. Everybody’s making a big deal about left field and second base but, really, I’m content to watch Murphy and Evans and Tatis make a go of it. And, hey, Luis Castillo can only get better, right?
You can’t have everything. At least that’s my stance. I’d rather take a chance on that Mets left field situation than have “established” stars such as Damon, Matsui and Nady, although I do wish the Mets had never gotten rid of Nady. And, as much as I like Manny Ramirez, I don’t think I want to see him spend his last few years in New York. I can see another Andruw Jones situation developing.
As good as Manny has been, and as good as he was in his contract year, I can definitely see a guy like that retiring on his next team. Maybe he won’t practice so hard, maybe he won’t run as hard, and, worst of all, maybe he won’t even be as entertaining.
Well, I guess that’s enough to keep me entertained through the feared Media Week at the Super Bowl. I still think Omar Minaya might have an ace up his sleeve, though, and I’m kinda hoping the ace is a somewhat crazy left-hander named Oliver Perez.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Rex Ryan - The Right Guy !
Woody Johnson mentioned things like “straightforward”, “expertise” and “instincts”. He could have added honest, aggressive, confident, smart and tough. Rex Ryan! I’m impressed! After Ryan’s hard-hitting opening press conference in beautiful Florham Park this morning, I’m ready for some football. And so is he!
What a difference from Mangini! Rex imparted more information in ten minutes than you’d extract from Mangini in a year. That’s for openers. Anybody interested in following the team and the league has to be happy about that alone. Ryan didn’t say “process” once. What he said was “full speed”, “aggressive”. “team”, “physical”, “run the football”, “opportunity”, “challenge”, and “take a swipe at one of ours, we’ll take a swipe at two of yours”.
Oh BABY!!
But he’s not an animal either. He showed his style and class. He opened his remarks with a reference to maybe meeting the new President, breaking the ice nicely, then showed some humility by expressing his thanks to the ownership and management. Best of all, he thanked his wife and cracked everyone up with his observation that there are only two kinds of coaches wives, ex-wives and great wives. Then he totally ad-libbed that he had probably “outkicked his coverage”.
The overwhelming feeling I get is that he’s Buddy Ryan’s son, but he’s a little more conscious of style, those rough edges honed down to glass. Everything he said made sense, and he used words that painted pictures in your mind. Much as a teacher would.
He laid out his immediate plans, emphasizing that he’d first surround himself with good people. Before he does anything else, he’s going to decide on a coaching staff. He mentioned Callahan and Mike Pettine, who’s joining the team from the Ravens.
Then he talked about providing his players with all the tools they’d need for success, and “KILL” or keep it likeable and learnable. He stressed that everything would be full speed, that they’d be aggressive and they’d play as a team.
He talked about the importance of preparation, and how it all starts on the practice field; they’d play “physical” and hit things head on. They’d let opponents know “The Jets are comin’” . His team would have pride and all three units would be involved.
But he likes Favre. Rex was very impressed by a thrashing Favre had given his Ravens back in 2001, and wouldn’t mind having him back at all. But when asked when he’ll talk with Brett, he said he’d be talking to all his players, and that “when we get around to the “f’s”, I’ll talk with Brett”.
When asked specifically about the 2 TD’s and 9 interceptions Favre produced to end 2008, he said he hadn’t reviewed the tapes of those games, and after he did, he and his coaches would take appropriate action then.
If his team does show pride, it’ll be a reflection of the coach. Rex is justifiably proud of his “consistent” personal coaching record and laid out the success he has had all along the way, in Cincinnati, then in Oklahoma for a year before he moved along to Baltimore, where his defense finished 1st or 2nd every year for about ten years. What could say it better than his parting shot on that topic, “you got the right guy”!
On the subject of Brian Schottenheimer, Ryan once again showed his humanity by empathizing with the Jets existing offensive coordinator, relating his feelings last year when he was bypassed by John Harbaugh for the Ravens top job, saying he “knows the sting”. But he “got over himself” and recognized it as an opportunity to become better prepared for the head coaching job himself.
Upon being asked about the “same old Jets”, he stressed that he’s taking over a good football team that had won nine games. But the style of play will be different, with an emphasis on defense, and that “that read and react stuff is for somebody else”. His players would play through the whistle.
If he likes his style, he seems to honestly like his content too, mentioning his “edge rushers”, guy in the middle, his linebackers and his “best cornerback in football” (Revis).
On Jets #1 pick Vernon Gholston, he related that situation to that of his Ravens Terrell Suggs, and how he changed perceptions from being a bust to being Rookie of the Year.
Ryan was sure to mention the fans too, and how he can’t wait for those home games with those great Jets fans out there, and that it’d be “rough on people”. And he’s legitimately proud that his Ravens hadn’t allowed more than 13 points in any home game all of last year.
He seemed a little Parcells-like when replying to a question about Mangini and the possibility that he’d irritate players with a ‘gee, I hope I don’t irritate ‘em’ kind of response, but then softened it by saying he wouldn’t last long if he irritated his players.
For a guy who maintains he doesn’t have a silver tongue, he surely did a nice job of parrying the questions he got this morning, and they weren’t softballs either. He honestly and intelligently handled all the questions on Favre, Schottenheimer, Mangini and the “say” he’d have in the organization with aplomb, saying not too much or too little. He honestly appreciates his new job and team and appreciates the limits of his place in it.
Ryan did make it clear that personnel is Tannenbaum’s job but that that function too would be a joint effort among coaches and scouts, but that he has never had pressure from above to hire a coach and that any speculation to that effect was not true.
Woody Johnson by all accounts wanted somebody who could fire guys up. He would seem to, as Ryan says, “have the right guy”. I know I’m fired up already, waddaya kiddin’ me? A fiery guy with a good record, a guy with brains, a guy who’ll answer your questions? What’s not to like?
What a difference from Mangini! Rex imparted more information in ten minutes than you’d extract from Mangini in a year. That’s for openers. Anybody interested in following the team and the league has to be happy about that alone. Ryan didn’t say “process” once. What he said was “full speed”, “aggressive”. “team”, “physical”, “run the football”, “opportunity”, “challenge”, and “take a swipe at one of ours, we’ll take a swipe at two of yours”.
Oh BABY!!
But he’s not an animal either. He showed his style and class. He opened his remarks with a reference to maybe meeting the new President, breaking the ice nicely, then showed some humility by expressing his thanks to the ownership and management. Best of all, he thanked his wife and cracked everyone up with his observation that there are only two kinds of coaches wives, ex-wives and great wives. Then he totally ad-libbed that he had probably “outkicked his coverage”.
The overwhelming feeling I get is that he’s Buddy Ryan’s son, but he’s a little more conscious of style, those rough edges honed down to glass. Everything he said made sense, and he used words that painted pictures in your mind. Much as a teacher would.
He laid out his immediate plans, emphasizing that he’d first surround himself with good people. Before he does anything else, he’s going to decide on a coaching staff. He mentioned Callahan and Mike Pettine, who’s joining the team from the Ravens.
Then he talked about providing his players with all the tools they’d need for success, and “KILL” or keep it likeable and learnable. He stressed that everything would be full speed, that they’d be aggressive and they’d play as a team.
He talked about the importance of preparation, and how it all starts on the practice field; they’d play “physical” and hit things head on. They’d let opponents know “The Jets are comin’” . His team would have pride and all three units would be involved.
But he likes Favre. Rex was very impressed by a thrashing Favre had given his Ravens back in 2001, and wouldn’t mind having him back at all. But when asked when he’ll talk with Brett, he said he’d be talking to all his players, and that “when we get around to the “f’s”, I’ll talk with Brett”.
When asked specifically about the 2 TD’s and 9 interceptions Favre produced to end 2008, he said he hadn’t reviewed the tapes of those games, and after he did, he and his coaches would take appropriate action then.
If his team does show pride, it’ll be a reflection of the coach. Rex is justifiably proud of his “consistent” personal coaching record and laid out the success he has had all along the way, in Cincinnati, then in Oklahoma for a year before he moved along to Baltimore, where his defense finished 1st or 2nd every year for about ten years. What could say it better than his parting shot on that topic, “you got the right guy”!
On the subject of Brian Schottenheimer, Ryan once again showed his humanity by empathizing with the Jets existing offensive coordinator, relating his feelings last year when he was bypassed by John Harbaugh for the Ravens top job, saying he “knows the sting”. But he “got over himself” and recognized it as an opportunity to become better prepared for the head coaching job himself.
Upon being asked about the “same old Jets”, he stressed that he’s taking over a good football team that had won nine games. But the style of play will be different, with an emphasis on defense, and that “that read and react stuff is for somebody else”. His players would play through the whistle.
If he likes his style, he seems to honestly like his content too, mentioning his “edge rushers”, guy in the middle, his linebackers and his “best cornerback in football” (Revis).
On Jets #1 pick Vernon Gholston, he related that situation to that of his Ravens Terrell Suggs, and how he changed perceptions from being a bust to being Rookie of the Year.
Ryan was sure to mention the fans too, and how he can’t wait for those home games with those great Jets fans out there, and that it’d be “rough on people”. And he’s legitimately proud that his Ravens hadn’t allowed more than 13 points in any home game all of last year.
He seemed a little Parcells-like when replying to a question about Mangini and the possibility that he’d irritate players with a ‘gee, I hope I don’t irritate ‘em’ kind of response, but then softened it by saying he wouldn’t last long if he irritated his players.
For a guy who maintains he doesn’t have a silver tongue, he surely did a nice job of parrying the questions he got this morning, and they weren’t softballs either. He honestly and intelligently handled all the questions on Favre, Schottenheimer, Mangini and the “say” he’d have in the organization with aplomb, saying not too much or too little. He honestly appreciates his new job and team and appreciates the limits of his place in it.
Ryan did make it clear that personnel is Tannenbaum’s job but that that function too would be a joint effort among coaches and scouts, but that he has never had pressure from above to hire a coach and that any speculation to that effect was not true.
Woody Johnson by all accounts wanted somebody who could fire guys up. He would seem to, as Ryan says, “have the right guy”. I know I’m fired up already, waddaya kiddin’ me? A fiery guy with a good record, a guy with brains, a guy who’ll answer your questions? What’s not to like?
Monday, January 19, 2009
Who Cares About Pennsylvania Anyway ?
I did it again. In my last article, I spent paragraph after paragraph espousing the good points of the Arizona Cardinals, the defense especially, as everybody knew their offense was incredible. And then I picked the Eagles to win. What a dummy!
My premise was flawed. It was that McNabb would get the time to throw to his myriad of receivers, as he did against seemingly everybody else. And, if he didn’t get the time, he’d run away. I also thought the Eagles secondary was too good; would never allow Fitzgerald and Boldin to beat them.
So, for 3 weeks running now, I’ve been right on the OTHER game but wrong on the Cards. It goes against my nature to get behind a team that totally quit for much of the second half of the season, a team that let the Patriots tar and feather them on a day I had no alternative game to watch, a team that totally ruined one whole Sunday in my life.
With all of that though, the Eagles could have won the game. I guess if Kevin Curtis could catch everything thrown his way, or if guys like Avant and Baskett could get open a little more often, they’d all be making a lot more money. The Eagles SHOULD have scored more points. But, in the end, of course, it was the Eagles defense that lost the game, or, conversely, the Arizona offense that ultimately won the game.
In the end, the Eagles just had to stop the Cards to go to the Super Bowl. They could not. They couldn’t stop Warner and they couldn’t stop the run in the two chances they had in that Cards final drive to stop them. On third and two, they stopped Hightower for just one, but on 4th and 1, they gave up six yards. Then, on a 3rd and 1 later in the drive, they let Hightower get the corner for another first down. They let Hightower kill them on that drive, as the big Cards bruiser caught the 8-yard TD pass for the clincher.
I say “clincher” but, even at that point in the game, the Eagles could have come back. That they didn’t wasn’t McNabb’s fault. Curtis’s drop of still another pass he should have had on 4th down sealed the Eagles fate.
So much for an all-Pennsylvania final. And so much for my handicapping. I have to admit it was a great game; you couldn’t ask for more. And who cares about Pennsylvania anyway?
The Steelers game went pretty much according to form. In the end, it was just too much Polamalu, too much Steelers defense, and too much of Big Ben. Roethlisberger showed why he was a Number 1 pick, consistently buying time by scrambling and finding open receivers downfield.
Polamalu’s INT was really the game-breaker though. Until then, the Ravens still had a hell of a shot. Flacco threw one more INT later on, when he was forced to pass, but, in my eyes, Flacco was pretty damned good yesterday. If he had some receivers like Santonio Holmes, he would have looked even better.
So much for the Championship Games. Now we can look forward to two full weeks of hoopla, hoopla that I studiously ignore year after year. Besides, there are some big things happening in Jets-land, and pitchers and catchers report to spring training in about a month.
The Jets just selected Rex Ryan as their next head coach. If anybody can put a charge into that moribund Jets defense, it’s Rex Ryan. I have no idea what he’ll be able to pull off on the other side of the ball, but, at the very least, maybe he’ll be able to rein in crazy Schottenheimer and his totally inaccurate old-man of a quarterback.
And, if Favre won’t be coming back (please God), Jets fans will probably be in for some crazy games in the short term, until the management can decide on somebody else. If the Jets could pick up a breakaway threat at wide receiver, things might even start to look rosy, or rosier anyway. Oh, and did I mention that Tom Brady will be back next year?
Best for Jets fans though, is not having to watch Eric Mangini process his way through another press conference. We might just even see a little emotion when his team throws in a clinker or two, or three, as they did this year. Maybe he’ll even do a Singletary and pull his pants down!
The Giants, though, they finally lost Spagnolo. That will be a big hit on the defense, especially if the new guy brings in a totally different scheme. I’m hoping they keep the same scheme. It sure seems to work, and it’ll work all that much better when Osi Umenyiora returns. (This just in-the Giants are promoting Bill Sheridan from within-YAY!!)
What a crazy year though! Miami and Chad Pennington come back from the dead. Two rookie quarterbacks, Flacco and Matt Ryan, lead their teams to the playoffs. Arizona and their chronically inept owners are going to the Super Bowl. Tony Dungy quits, Chucky gets fired down in Tampa. And what about that crazy Wildcat offense!
Pretty soon, we may even be able to turn our thoughts to the basketball season. Not that the NY pro teams are doing anything noteworthy yet, but D’Antoni gives the fans at least some hope and Brook Lopez, the Nets rookie center, is starting to show why he was a Number 1 pick.
In college basketball, there won’t be much going on locally. Seton Hall is getting killed in the very tough Big East and Rutgers, while showing a lot of fight, can’t really be expected to do a lot. Even the Rutgers women’s team is having a tough time in the early going.
Thank God for baseball and the Mets! Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, a real live relief staff – prospects for a NY World Series.
My premise was flawed. It was that McNabb would get the time to throw to his myriad of receivers, as he did against seemingly everybody else. And, if he didn’t get the time, he’d run away. I also thought the Eagles secondary was too good; would never allow Fitzgerald and Boldin to beat them.
So, for 3 weeks running now, I’ve been right on the OTHER game but wrong on the Cards. It goes against my nature to get behind a team that totally quit for much of the second half of the season, a team that let the Patriots tar and feather them on a day I had no alternative game to watch, a team that totally ruined one whole Sunday in my life.
With all of that though, the Eagles could have won the game. I guess if Kevin Curtis could catch everything thrown his way, or if guys like Avant and Baskett could get open a little more often, they’d all be making a lot more money. The Eagles SHOULD have scored more points. But, in the end, of course, it was the Eagles defense that lost the game, or, conversely, the Arizona offense that ultimately won the game.
In the end, the Eagles just had to stop the Cards to go to the Super Bowl. They could not. They couldn’t stop Warner and they couldn’t stop the run in the two chances they had in that Cards final drive to stop them. On third and two, they stopped Hightower for just one, but on 4th and 1, they gave up six yards. Then, on a 3rd and 1 later in the drive, they let Hightower get the corner for another first down. They let Hightower kill them on that drive, as the big Cards bruiser caught the 8-yard TD pass for the clincher.
I say “clincher” but, even at that point in the game, the Eagles could have come back. That they didn’t wasn’t McNabb’s fault. Curtis’s drop of still another pass he should have had on 4th down sealed the Eagles fate.
So much for an all-Pennsylvania final. And so much for my handicapping. I have to admit it was a great game; you couldn’t ask for more. And who cares about Pennsylvania anyway?
The Steelers game went pretty much according to form. In the end, it was just too much Polamalu, too much Steelers defense, and too much of Big Ben. Roethlisberger showed why he was a Number 1 pick, consistently buying time by scrambling and finding open receivers downfield.
Polamalu’s INT was really the game-breaker though. Until then, the Ravens still had a hell of a shot. Flacco threw one more INT later on, when he was forced to pass, but, in my eyes, Flacco was pretty damned good yesterday. If he had some receivers like Santonio Holmes, he would have looked even better.
So much for the Championship Games. Now we can look forward to two full weeks of hoopla, hoopla that I studiously ignore year after year. Besides, there are some big things happening in Jets-land, and pitchers and catchers report to spring training in about a month.
The Jets just selected Rex Ryan as their next head coach. If anybody can put a charge into that moribund Jets defense, it’s Rex Ryan. I have no idea what he’ll be able to pull off on the other side of the ball, but, at the very least, maybe he’ll be able to rein in crazy Schottenheimer and his totally inaccurate old-man of a quarterback.
And, if Favre won’t be coming back (please God), Jets fans will probably be in for some crazy games in the short term, until the management can decide on somebody else. If the Jets could pick up a breakaway threat at wide receiver, things might even start to look rosy, or rosier anyway. Oh, and did I mention that Tom Brady will be back next year?
Best for Jets fans though, is not having to watch Eric Mangini process his way through another press conference. We might just even see a little emotion when his team throws in a clinker or two, or three, as they did this year. Maybe he’ll even do a Singletary and pull his pants down!
The Giants, though, they finally lost Spagnolo. That will be a big hit on the defense, especially if the new guy brings in a totally different scheme. I’m hoping they keep the same scheme. It sure seems to work, and it’ll work all that much better when Osi Umenyiora returns. (This just in-the Giants are promoting Bill Sheridan from within-YAY!!)
What a crazy year though! Miami and Chad Pennington come back from the dead. Two rookie quarterbacks, Flacco and Matt Ryan, lead their teams to the playoffs. Arizona and their chronically inept owners are going to the Super Bowl. Tony Dungy quits, Chucky gets fired down in Tampa. And what about that crazy Wildcat offense!
Pretty soon, we may even be able to turn our thoughts to the basketball season. Not that the NY pro teams are doing anything noteworthy yet, but D’Antoni gives the fans at least some hope and Brook Lopez, the Nets rookie center, is starting to show why he was a Number 1 pick.
In college basketball, there won’t be much going on locally. Seton Hall is getting killed in the very tough Big East and Rutgers, while showing a lot of fight, can’t really be expected to do a lot. Even the Rutgers women’s team is having a tough time in the early going.
Thank God for baseball and the Mets! Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, a real live relief staff – prospects for a NY World Series.
Friday, January 16, 2009
A Pennsylvania Weekend
On a day like today when it’s about 5 degrees in New Jersey, it’s hard to believe they’re still playing football in the NFL. Both Conference Championship Games will be played on Sunday, of course, and if I had my druthers (I usually don’t), I’d be headed to Phoenix.
It’ll be nice in Phoenix, of course. The Sunday forecast is sunny with temperatures ranging from 44 to 77 degrees. That probably favors Arizona, although it’s hard to imagine that good weather would hurt the guys used to playing in bad. The Eagles are favored by 2 ½ in Vegas at the moment and the over/under stands at a whopping 50 ½. Although I’m not betting, based on this data, the score figures to be sumthin’ like 26-24 Philadelphia.
I’m not going to make the same mistake 3 times in a row. I had bet against Phoenix in both Weeks 1 and 2 of the playoffs and of course lost twice. Not only did I lose but the second game was over early as the Cards absolutely pounded Carolina, making Jake Delhomme look ridiculous while scoring again and again in the first quarter and half.
And Carolina’s game plan, if you could call it that, was stupid! Really, there’s no better way to characterize it. They seemed to be covering Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona’s absolutely stellar wide receiver, with one man (when he was covered at all) all afternoon. On the other side of the ball, they tried to play catch up way too early, passing instead of running, and just played right into the Cards’ hands when Delhomme did his best impersonation of the worst quarterback to ever play the game.
Their first playoff game win, against Atlanta, was more indicative of their team performance. And yet, even in that game, Michael Turner, Atlanta’s ballyhooed running back, looked as if he could never get started, and wound up going east and west all day.
Still though, they did stop the run even if Atlanta looked remarkably bad in their execution of it. They only won by a score of 30-24 in that one and the usual suspects were instrumental in the win, Warner and Fitzgerald and Boldin, but there were also at least some vestiges of a running game with Edgerrin James, and even more surprising was their game toughness, as they forced their way ahead in the third and fourth quarters, scoring on a fumble recovery and runback from Antrel Rolle and then sacking Matt Ryan for a safety.
Toughness was the last thing anyone ever could have expected from the same team that basically just lay down on national TV versus the Pats (the snow angel game). Even in their last game of the year, while they picked up their level of play to beat Seattle, it wasn’t really extraordinary.
Philadelphia, though, knows what to expect. They’ve seen that defensive front, and have already expressed an admiration for Antonio Smith and his friends. When you really take a look at that defense, it’s got some real talent.
Their leading tackler by far is relatively unsung linebacker Karlos Danby while they get pressure on the QB from both linemen and linebackers. The secondary is strong too, and Antrel Rolle seems especially to have come alive in these playoff games. But they’re all playing well, Rogers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson and Antonio Smith.
Knowing what to expect might be half the battle. The Cards surprised Atlanta and the Panthers too. I don’t think they’ll surprise Philly’s gigantic offensive line, especially in the passing game. McNabb will find targets among his ample bevy of receivers while their running game and junk dumpoffs to Westbrook will continue to work. Arizona will stop the run, but unless they can get to McNabb, it’ll be a long afternoon for the Cards defense.
The Eagles secondary is a good one, featuring Asante Samuel and the headstrong Brian Dawkins, and I’d expect them to have some success, but not as much as in their first game, won by the Eagles 48-20. In that game, the Cards had already wrapped the division. That makes a huge difference.
Expect a slugfest, but Eagles pressure on Warner will make the difference. I don’t believe the Cards will be able to pressure McNabb. He’ll still put up 3TD’s and figure another 2 or 3 field goals from Akers. That’s 30. Even if the Cards play better than they did the first time, I can’t see them being very efficient with Eagles in Warner’s face all day.
It’ll be close, but I’d expect Philly to pull ahead and then shutdown a closing Arizona flurry to make things respectable. The Eagles have taken the measure of Minnesota and the G-Men to get this far, a tougher road than Atlanta/Carolina and they won’t play second-fiddle to the upstart Cards. Make it 30-26 in the Eagles favor. For you gamblers, that’s the Eagles and the “over.”
The Pittsburgh weather will be distinctly worse than Arizona’s, with light snow forecasted and temperatures ranging from 15 to 28 degrees. That won’t bother either team though and it’ll be another defensive gem. This is the third meeting between the two and the Steelers have won both. I expect them to have success a third time, as difficult as that may seem.
The Ravens won’t be able to run against that Steelers defense while I think Willie Parker will do some damage on the other end. The Ravens have come a long way with a rookie quarterback, and they’re bound for a letdown after their big wins over Miami and especially over Tennessee.
I think Roethlisberger will prove the difference between a veteran in a big game and a rookie. Joe Flacco has been great so far, and, as a Jersey guy, it’s hard not to root for him, but this will be his first Conference Championship game.
It’s the year of Pennsylvania. Expect the Steelers to emerge victorious once again over the Ravens by 23-13. (Pitt and “over”).
It’ll be nice in Phoenix, of course. The Sunday forecast is sunny with temperatures ranging from 44 to 77 degrees. That probably favors Arizona, although it’s hard to imagine that good weather would hurt the guys used to playing in bad. The Eagles are favored by 2 ½ in Vegas at the moment and the over/under stands at a whopping 50 ½. Although I’m not betting, based on this data, the score figures to be sumthin’ like 26-24 Philadelphia.
I’m not going to make the same mistake 3 times in a row. I had bet against Phoenix in both Weeks 1 and 2 of the playoffs and of course lost twice. Not only did I lose but the second game was over early as the Cards absolutely pounded Carolina, making Jake Delhomme look ridiculous while scoring again and again in the first quarter and half.
And Carolina’s game plan, if you could call it that, was stupid! Really, there’s no better way to characterize it. They seemed to be covering Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona’s absolutely stellar wide receiver, with one man (when he was covered at all) all afternoon. On the other side of the ball, they tried to play catch up way too early, passing instead of running, and just played right into the Cards’ hands when Delhomme did his best impersonation of the worst quarterback to ever play the game.
Their first playoff game win, against Atlanta, was more indicative of their team performance. And yet, even in that game, Michael Turner, Atlanta’s ballyhooed running back, looked as if he could never get started, and wound up going east and west all day.
Still though, they did stop the run even if Atlanta looked remarkably bad in their execution of it. They only won by a score of 30-24 in that one and the usual suspects were instrumental in the win, Warner and Fitzgerald and Boldin, but there were also at least some vestiges of a running game with Edgerrin James, and even more surprising was their game toughness, as they forced their way ahead in the third and fourth quarters, scoring on a fumble recovery and runback from Antrel Rolle and then sacking Matt Ryan for a safety.
Toughness was the last thing anyone ever could have expected from the same team that basically just lay down on national TV versus the Pats (the snow angel game). Even in their last game of the year, while they picked up their level of play to beat Seattle, it wasn’t really extraordinary.
Philadelphia, though, knows what to expect. They’ve seen that defensive front, and have already expressed an admiration for Antonio Smith and his friends. When you really take a look at that defense, it’s got some real talent.
Their leading tackler by far is relatively unsung linebacker Karlos Danby while they get pressure on the QB from both linemen and linebackers. The secondary is strong too, and Antrel Rolle seems especially to have come alive in these playoff games. But they’re all playing well, Rogers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson and Antonio Smith.
Knowing what to expect might be half the battle. The Cards surprised Atlanta and the Panthers too. I don’t think they’ll surprise Philly’s gigantic offensive line, especially in the passing game. McNabb will find targets among his ample bevy of receivers while their running game and junk dumpoffs to Westbrook will continue to work. Arizona will stop the run, but unless they can get to McNabb, it’ll be a long afternoon for the Cards defense.
The Eagles secondary is a good one, featuring Asante Samuel and the headstrong Brian Dawkins, and I’d expect them to have some success, but not as much as in their first game, won by the Eagles 48-20. In that game, the Cards had already wrapped the division. That makes a huge difference.
Expect a slugfest, but Eagles pressure on Warner will make the difference. I don’t believe the Cards will be able to pressure McNabb. He’ll still put up 3TD’s and figure another 2 or 3 field goals from Akers. That’s 30. Even if the Cards play better than they did the first time, I can’t see them being very efficient with Eagles in Warner’s face all day.
It’ll be close, but I’d expect Philly to pull ahead and then shutdown a closing Arizona flurry to make things respectable. The Eagles have taken the measure of Minnesota and the G-Men to get this far, a tougher road than Atlanta/Carolina and they won’t play second-fiddle to the upstart Cards. Make it 30-26 in the Eagles favor. For you gamblers, that’s the Eagles and the “over.”
The Pittsburgh weather will be distinctly worse than Arizona’s, with light snow forecasted and temperatures ranging from 15 to 28 degrees. That won’t bother either team though and it’ll be another defensive gem. This is the third meeting between the two and the Steelers have won both. I expect them to have success a third time, as difficult as that may seem.
The Ravens won’t be able to run against that Steelers defense while I think Willie Parker will do some damage on the other end. The Ravens have come a long way with a rookie quarterback, and they’re bound for a letdown after their big wins over Miami and especially over Tennessee.
I think Roethlisberger will prove the difference between a veteran in a big game and a rookie. Joe Flacco has been great so far, and, as a Jersey guy, it’s hard not to root for him, but this will be his first Conference Championship game.
It’s the year of Pennsylvania. Expect the Steelers to emerge victorious once again over the Ravens by 23-13. (Pitt and “over”).
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Wednesday Odds and Ends
So what can you expect on a Wednesday morning in New Jersey when it’s just Philly and Pittsburgh on the NFL horizon. (Yeah, sure, I know, it could be Arizona and/or Baltimore but a reasonable person shouldn’t expect it). Odds and ends is what I’m serving today.
By Wednesday morning, you’ve heard all you ever wanted to hear if you’re a Giants fan. How bad Eli was and how he can’t throw in the wind, and what if we had Plaxico, and how bad was it throwing to Hixon and Toomer, and why didn’t they let Jacobs run more, and what about the defense?
Yeah, I’ve had it with that. They lost. Get over it. They were lucky to have gotten that number 1 seed. They actually played their hearts out on Sunday but there are at least two factors in any football game. There is “heart” and the G-Men had plenty of that. But there is also talent and there wasn’t nearly enough of that.
So it’s up to Jerry Reese now, and I’m already hearing whines from the do-gooders that Plaxico shouldn’t be allowed to come back. Well, good luck with the union, fellas. And good luck finding somebody with those nice physical attributes combined with a knowledge of that somewhat-difficult offense. Good luck with Hixon and Toomer and Smith and Moss and Manningham too.
The Giants are kind of predictable in situations such as this one actually. They really hate over-paying for talent. So I wouldn’t count on Jacobs returning, unless the big fella is okay with taking less than another team might offer. Ward will probably come back, because, let’s face facts, he gained his thousand by following blocks for the most part.
As a third-down back, he failed in my eyes on Sunday, and probably for anybody who was really watching. (I understand G.M.’s really do watch the games). So, expect some changes in the running backs department. If both return, that’d be okay, better than okay maybe, but it still won’t get them to that brass ring (or the gold one encrusted with diamonds either).
On defense, they’ll need some help in the secondary, I suppose. Sam Madison, James Butler and a couple of others will be out there in one way or another. I’d love to see them draft a linebacker or two. This group doesn’t thrill me. The defensive line is signed except for Fred Robbins so they’re in great shape with Umenyiora, Tuck, Kiwanuka and Alford, the kid from East Orange. But I wouldn’t mind having one more.
Eli needs a backup too, and David Carr isn’t too bad in that department. It’s at running back where they are most vulnerable. Jacobs did entirely too much running east and west in that Eagles game. It seems he’s hell on wheels once he gets some steam up, but, alas, not before. So a team that recognizes his weakness can make sure he never really gets started, which is exactly what the Eagles did on Sunday.
So, I’d welcome another running back for sure. I’d like to see Ahmad Bradshaw get a real live opportunity. Then, if there’s another Adrian Peterson out there somewhere, I’d be happy to draft him.
But Jerry Reese has proven he’s some kind of personnel guy. In the NFL, that’s more than half the battle. What might hurt the Giants more than any of these player changes would be the loss of Spagnola as the defensive coordinator. At the very least, we can expect them to lose the first couple of games just learning the new defense.
Okay, enough about the Giants. The Jets are still pretending to interview candidates for their vacant head coaching position. I fully expect them to go with the biggest butt-kisser, that is, whoever can jump the highest when Woody says boo. Through Tannenbaum of course. That’s enough about the Jets, unless you want to hear some more about Bret Favre. I certainly don’t.
If you’re a reasonable gambling man, you’ve already lost your shirt on the friggin’ Arizona Cardinals. The other games were predictable, at least to a certain degree. There was Baltimore’s ridiculously strong and manic defense, and there was Donovan McNabb and a whole boatload of receivers. But Arizona winning against a strong playoffs team two weeks in a row was sumthin’ friggin’ inexplicable (and inexcusable too).
You had to feel somewhat for the Titans. They lost on some big turnovers, which is a tough way to lose. That Crumpler fumble as he neared the goal line was a real killer. Losing their best running back for the second half didn’t help much either. Jeff Fischer deserved better.
The upcoming Sunday games should be great ones though. Kurt Warner against Donovan McNabb, and those two great defenses going after each other in Pittsburgh. You’re pretty much guaranteed to see everything on Sunday, from heavy hitting to bone-crushing sacks to beautifully floated passes to diving catches in the endzone.
My guess is you’ll be seeing some pretty fancy field goal kicking too, in Pittsburgh because neither team can even get to the red zone half the time, and in Arizona because the Eagles are so bad at scoring from in close. The Eagles secondary is too good to expect many TD’s from that feared Cards receiving corps.
Had enough of the NFL? The Knicks are playing pretty well lately, and, speaking of odds and ends, you have to really start wondering about Eddie Curry (apparently). Other than that, though, they’re doing pretty well for a team that just shucked two of its best players. And Harrington’s from Jersey!
The Nets too are a very interesting team. It looks as if Brook Lopez is working out just fine at center, especially if Vince keeps busting his horns. If there’s anything wrong with the Nets, it’s that they can’t seem to find the right rotation.
And the Mets lost the Derek Lowe sweepstakes. Go Tim Redding!! And what about Ollie?
By Wednesday morning, you’ve heard all you ever wanted to hear if you’re a Giants fan. How bad Eli was and how he can’t throw in the wind, and what if we had Plaxico, and how bad was it throwing to Hixon and Toomer, and why didn’t they let Jacobs run more, and what about the defense?
Yeah, I’ve had it with that. They lost. Get over it. They were lucky to have gotten that number 1 seed. They actually played their hearts out on Sunday but there are at least two factors in any football game. There is “heart” and the G-Men had plenty of that. But there is also talent and there wasn’t nearly enough of that.
So it’s up to Jerry Reese now, and I’m already hearing whines from the do-gooders that Plaxico shouldn’t be allowed to come back. Well, good luck with the union, fellas. And good luck finding somebody with those nice physical attributes combined with a knowledge of that somewhat-difficult offense. Good luck with Hixon and Toomer and Smith and Moss and Manningham too.
The Giants are kind of predictable in situations such as this one actually. They really hate over-paying for talent. So I wouldn’t count on Jacobs returning, unless the big fella is okay with taking less than another team might offer. Ward will probably come back, because, let’s face facts, he gained his thousand by following blocks for the most part.
As a third-down back, he failed in my eyes on Sunday, and probably for anybody who was really watching. (I understand G.M.’s really do watch the games). So, expect some changes in the running backs department. If both return, that’d be okay, better than okay maybe, but it still won’t get them to that brass ring (or the gold one encrusted with diamonds either).
On defense, they’ll need some help in the secondary, I suppose. Sam Madison, James Butler and a couple of others will be out there in one way or another. I’d love to see them draft a linebacker or two. This group doesn’t thrill me. The defensive line is signed except for Fred Robbins so they’re in great shape with Umenyiora, Tuck, Kiwanuka and Alford, the kid from East Orange. But I wouldn’t mind having one more.
Eli needs a backup too, and David Carr isn’t too bad in that department. It’s at running back where they are most vulnerable. Jacobs did entirely too much running east and west in that Eagles game. It seems he’s hell on wheels once he gets some steam up, but, alas, not before. So a team that recognizes his weakness can make sure he never really gets started, which is exactly what the Eagles did on Sunday.
So, I’d welcome another running back for sure. I’d like to see Ahmad Bradshaw get a real live opportunity. Then, if there’s another Adrian Peterson out there somewhere, I’d be happy to draft him.
But Jerry Reese has proven he’s some kind of personnel guy. In the NFL, that’s more than half the battle. What might hurt the Giants more than any of these player changes would be the loss of Spagnola as the defensive coordinator. At the very least, we can expect them to lose the first couple of games just learning the new defense.
Okay, enough about the Giants. The Jets are still pretending to interview candidates for their vacant head coaching position. I fully expect them to go with the biggest butt-kisser, that is, whoever can jump the highest when Woody says boo. Through Tannenbaum of course. That’s enough about the Jets, unless you want to hear some more about Bret Favre. I certainly don’t.
If you’re a reasonable gambling man, you’ve already lost your shirt on the friggin’ Arizona Cardinals. The other games were predictable, at least to a certain degree. There was Baltimore’s ridiculously strong and manic defense, and there was Donovan McNabb and a whole boatload of receivers. But Arizona winning against a strong playoffs team two weeks in a row was sumthin’ friggin’ inexplicable (and inexcusable too).
You had to feel somewhat for the Titans. They lost on some big turnovers, which is a tough way to lose. That Crumpler fumble as he neared the goal line was a real killer. Losing their best running back for the second half didn’t help much either. Jeff Fischer deserved better.
The upcoming Sunday games should be great ones though. Kurt Warner against Donovan McNabb, and those two great defenses going after each other in Pittsburgh. You’re pretty much guaranteed to see everything on Sunday, from heavy hitting to bone-crushing sacks to beautifully floated passes to diving catches in the endzone.
My guess is you’ll be seeing some pretty fancy field goal kicking too, in Pittsburgh because neither team can even get to the red zone half the time, and in Arizona because the Eagles are so bad at scoring from in close. The Eagles secondary is too good to expect many TD’s from that feared Cards receiving corps.
Had enough of the NFL? The Knicks are playing pretty well lately, and, speaking of odds and ends, you have to really start wondering about Eddie Curry (apparently). Other than that, though, they’re doing pretty well for a team that just shucked two of its best players. And Harrington’s from Jersey!
The Nets too are a very interesting team. It looks as if Brook Lopez is working out just fine at center, especially if Vince keeps busting his horns. If there’s anything wrong with the Nets, it’s that they can’t seem to find the right rotation.
And the Mets lost the Derek Lowe sweepstakes. Go Tim Redding!! And what about Ollie?
Sunday, January 11, 2009
No Tears for the Giants
Oh well, the Giants are gone. I’ll have to take my Giants stuff and turn the label down. But things went pretty much as I expected today at Giants Stadium. The offense is gone. Oh, there’s a big running back and a nice offensive line. But geez, the receivers aren’t open that much. Maybe that’s why the Eagles had all those guys stacked up at the line.
I can’t really get that upset about this. The Giants decided they really didn’t need Plaxico that badly. They saw their chance to save some money and took it, a calculated risk. So they lost on that one, but, what the heck, the Stadium’s still selling out (without cheerleaders) and they did get the number 1 seed. So they probably feel pretty good all in all. So why should I get upset.
I’ve been hearing already that the Eagles wanted it more, that from one of the Giants. So maybe it’s true. But I don’t think so. It was just the Eagles and the Giants before they had Plaxico, and before they had Strahan and Umenyiora. A nice little defense and a nice quarterback and some possession-type receivers to complement a massive ground attack.
But it’s not like the Eagles had to guess what was coming that often. It’s not like they had to worry that some really big guy with long arms who could catch a lot of passes with just one hand would streak down the sideline or across the middle. Those Eagles have some nice secondary people too, don’t they?
One of them, a fella named Samuel, (you remember Asante, he used to be with the Pats and then went to the Eagles, he intercepted one on the Vikings last week for a touchdown?) intercepted a Manning fling in the first quarter and took it a very long way. Eli raced about five feet and waited for Samuel around the goal line. Not that I blame him, but that didn’t show that much intensity.
Intensity, just a hair short on intensity yesterday. The defense played great, all things considered, even without any vestige of the pass rush they had last year. But they couldn’t stop everything and it seemed as if they were on the field a lot. (Upon checking, the Eagles ran 68 plays to the Giants 61, the time of possession was about even).
I know most people probably support the Giants decision on Burress. A lot of people don’t like endzone celebrations either, or a guy making a snow angel in the endzone. They like discipline and respect for the game, and showing up ten minutes early all the time. All that stuff.
Of course it wasn’t all about the lack of a Plaxico. The Giants could’ve played better, and smarter, and made it closer at the end. If they did everything right, they may have pulled out the win, but I don’t think so. Derrick Ward could’ve caught a couple of passes and made me happy. There were a couple of misses in the field goal department, and I thought a little lack of intensity on those fourth down plays. Those were really killers.
The Giants were beautiful last year though, when they had all those guys, before Osi got hurt and Strahan retired and Plax shot himself in the butt. This year’s version couldn’t have played New England so tightly in the last week of the season, or beaten Tampa so easily. They never would have got by Dallas as that team did, which sent them off to frigid Green Bay and then on to beautiful Arizona.
So maybe it’s better that this team exited early. Why prolong the agony? Philly’s a better team right now, and I have to think they’ll beat Arizona next week. Whether they can beat either Pittsburgh or Baltimore is problematical, but they certainly show a lot of potential.
The Eagles passing game sure seems to have come a long way in a short period of time. Curtis and DeSean Jackson and Avant and Celek, and then Westbrook too. Lots of targets, much as the Giants seemed to have had last year. The Eagles did everything just right yesterday.
They have the secondary to match up with those Arizona receivers, the offensive line to deal with those tough defenses of whatever team emerges from the AFC, either Pittsburgh or Baltimore. They do all right against the run too. If they can handle that big horse, Jacobs, they might be able to handle Willie Parker or Willis McGahee, even if those two are a lot shiftier.
True fans will wonder about next year. Receivers just don’t grow on trees, and it takes a long time, usually, before they can become really effective in the passing game. Maybe they’ll trade for an established star as they did with Burress years ago. Or maybe Burress will remain with the club, who knows?
Of course the Giants have done quite well in the draft. Look for them to draft another defensive lineman or maybe a linebacker as a number 1. That’s if they don’t decide they need another running back. After all, earth, wind and fire didn’t exactly demolish the Eagles….just some earth and a little bit of wind.
The Giants were very respectable yesterday. That’s more that can be said about the Panthers, the #2 seed that lost to Arizona so easily, with a mad quarterback and two great running backs who never got used.
They looked better than San Diego did as well. The Chargers held the Steelers even for a while before the Steelers turned up the pressure. Of course, the Chargers had their excuse, too; no LaDainian was an awfully big handicap, even though little Darren Sproles did get into the endzone until after the issue had already been decided.
As for those people and radio voices who kept saying “The Giants are the better team so they should win”, what games have you been watching the last few weeks?
I can’t really get that upset about this. The Giants decided they really didn’t need Plaxico that badly. They saw their chance to save some money and took it, a calculated risk. So they lost on that one, but, what the heck, the Stadium’s still selling out (without cheerleaders) and they did get the number 1 seed. So they probably feel pretty good all in all. So why should I get upset.
I’ve been hearing already that the Eagles wanted it more, that from one of the Giants. So maybe it’s true. But I don’t think so. It was just the Eagles and the Giants before they had Plaxico, and before they had Strahan and Umenyiora. A nice little defense and a nice quarterback and some possession-type receivers to complement a massive ground attack.
But it’s not like the Eagles had to guess what was coming that often. It’s not like they had to worry that some really big guy with long arms who could catch a lot of passes with just one hand would streak down the sideline or across the middle. Those Eagles have some nice secondary people too, don’t they?
One of them, a fella named Samuel, (you remember Asante, he used to be with the Pats and then went to the Eagles, he intercepted one on the Vikings last week for a touchdown?) intercepted a Manning fling in the first quarter and took it a very long way. Eli raced about five feet and waited for Samuel around the goal line. Not that I blame him, but that didn’t show that much intensity.
Intensity, just a hair short on intensity yesterday. The defense played great, all things considered, even without any vestige of the pass rush they had last year. But they couldn’t stop everything and it seemed as if they were on the field a lot. (Upon checking, the Eagles ran 68 plays to the Giants 61, the time of possession was about even).
I know most people probably support the Giants decision on Burress. A lot of people don’t like endzone celebrations either, or a guy making a snow angel in the endzone. They like discipline and respect for the game, and showing up ten minutes early all the time. All that stuff.
Of course it wasn’t all about the lack of a Plaxico. The Giants could’ve played better, and smarter, and made it closer at the end. If they did everything right, they may have pulled out the win, but I don’t think so. Derrick Ward could’ve caught a couple of passes and made me happy. There were a couple of misses in the field goal department, and I thought a little lack of intensity on those fourth down plays. Those were really killers.
The Giants were beautiful last year though, when they had all those guys, before Osi got hurt and Strahan retired and Plax shot himself in the butt. This year’s version couldn’t have played New England so tightly in the last week of the season, or beaten Tampa so easily. They never would have got by Dallas as that team did, which sent them off to frigid Green Bay and then on to beautiful Arizona.
So maybe it’s better that this team exited early. Why prolong the agony? Philly’s a better team right now, and I have to think they’ll beat Arizona next week. Whether they can beat either Pittsburgh or Baltimore is problematical, but they certainly show a lot of potential.
The Eagles passing game sure seems to have come a long way in a short period of time. Curtis and DeSean Jackson and Avant and Celek, and then Westbrook too. Lots of targets, much as the Giants seemed to have had last year. The Eagles did everything just right yesterday.
They have the secondary to match up with those Arizona receivers, the offensive line to deal with those tough defenses of whatever team emerges from the AFC, either Pittsburgh or Baltimore. They do all right against the run too. If they can handle that big horse, Jacobs, they might be able to handle Willie Parker or Willis McGahee, even if those two are a lot shiftier.
True fans will wonder about next year. Receivers just don’t grow on trees, and it takes a long time, usually, before they can become really effective in the passing game. Maybe they’ll trade for an established star as they did with Burress years ago. Or maybe Burress will remain with the club, who knows?
Of course the Giants have done quite well in the draft. Look for them to draft another defensive lineman or maybe a linebacker as a number 1. That’s if they don’t decide they need another running back. After all, earth, wind and fire didn’t exactly demolish the Eagles….just some earth and a little bit of wind.
The Giants were very respectable yesterday. That’s more that can be said about the Panthers, the #2 seed that lost to Arizona so easily, with a mad quarterback and two great running backs who never got used.
They looked better than San Diego did as well. The Chargers held the Steelers even for a while before the Steelers turned up the pressure. Of course, the Chargers had their excuse, too; no LaDainian was an awfully big handicap, even though little Darren Sproles did get into the endzone until after the issue had already been decided.
As for those people and radio voices who kept saying “The Giants are the better team so they should win”, what games have you been watching the last few weeks?
Friday, January 9, 2009
Those Special Players
Every good team has one or more special players, players who aren’t only terrific players by themselves at their position, but whose talent and effort inspire greater play from all the players around them. If one of these players is hurt, you wonder how his team can win without him. If he’s on the field, you spend a week trying to figure out how to take him out of the action.
The eight teams playing this weekend have their own special players. Some of them are hurt, allegedly at least….you can never really tell with the scarceness of information available to the public. You thus can’t gauge how effective that player will be in the game, how long he’ll play and whether he’ll become just a normal player in terms of effectiveness. It’s usually a question mark whether his replacement is any good.
Take Kevin Mawae, for example. He’s “just” the center for the Titans, but on a team as run-oriented they are, it’s a big hit on them if they lose Mawae, especially if his replacement can’t play. As it turns out, Mawae’s just been officially listed as “out”, very bad news for the Titans.
Tennessee wasn’t able to run on 12/28 against the Colts, losing 23-0. They had a bye for the first week of the playoffs. Against a Ravens defense that stuffs the run, you have to like the Ravens chances for an upset. The Ravens have at least two special players on defense, LB Ray Lewis and S Ed Reed, and they’re healthy.
Of course Tennessee also has a big-time defense, featuring linemen Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vandenbosch. But they’re coming off recent injuries and their performance on Saturday is thus open to question. All in all, I’d say it’ll be bye-bye Titans in a relatively low-scoring affair. The Ravens will pound the ball and dominate time of possession, which ordinarily would be the Titans type of game. But not tomorrow. Ravens 16-13.
The 4:30 game tomorrow pits the surprising Arizona Cards against the tough Carolina Panthers at Carolina. Special players abound for the Panthers and they’re all healthy. Those two tough running backs, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, and Steve Smith, wide receiver extraordinaire, are all ready to go. On defense, they have Julius Peppers ready for bear, or, um, bird.
The Cards looked special last week against the Falcons but they could be without Anquan Boldin, or he’ll play somewhat nicked-up. That’s a huge hit, the Panthers will just concentrate on stopping Fitzgerald. The Cards have Breaston too but he’s not Boldin. And Edgerrin James won’t make the difference either. Look for the Panthers to score a lot and the Cards to try keeping up all game, unsuccessfully. It’ll be Panthers 30-20. Pray that Kurt Warner lasts the entire game.
Sunday’s first game has our G-Men facing the Eagles at Giants Stadium. The most special Giants players are gone for one reason or another. The real superstar, Osi Umenyiora, is the guy who made Eagles tackle Winston Justice look so bad last year. He may not look so bad against a nicked-up Justin Tuck.
The Eagles have their own special guys, McNabb and Westbrook, of course, but you might add DeSean Jackson to that list. They’re all healthy and coming off some very big wins, one of which was against the Giants. The Eagles also sport some very nice secondary people, big-hitter Brian Dawkins and a guy named Asante Samuel.
The Giants only special feature is their running game. As impressive as it can be, I don’t think it will be on Sunday. The Eagles will put eight in the box all afternoon. They’ll force Manning to pass to those workmanlike receivers, Toomer and Smith and Hixon.
Although you could make a case for Brandon Jacobs and that offensive line being very special, it won’t be enough against a team playing run. I don’t see anybody stretching the field for the Giants. Sunday will make the loss of Plaxico very apparent indeed.
The Giants inability to exert any pressure on McNabb will create more than a few opportunities for long (and usually boring) Eagles drives. The Eagles should be able to take the lead and then probably force some turnovers from Eli and those wide-outs in the second half. The Eagles inability to score in the red zone will continue though, thus depressing the score somewhat, but it’ll still be Eagles 26-20.
The Chargers face the Steelers in Sunday’s late game. The Chargers have some special players in their quarterback, Philip Rivers, and their tight end, Antonio Gates. They’ll be without LaDainian though, and Darren Sproles may find the Steelers a harder bunch to hide from than were the Falcons.
The Steelers have Troy Polamalu who has been just unbelievable all year. He stops everything, the run, the pass, you name it. Then there’s that Defensive MVP James Harrison and a fella named Farrior who’s usually quite good, especially against the pass.
I just can’t imagine the Chargers winning this one. Rivers has been great this year, but he’ll have less time than he’s used to getting, and his receivers will be covered. Sproles will be stopped. The Steelers behind Roethlisberger will display some long, boring drives of their own. The Chargers won’t be able to stop it, despite having a couple of good corners. Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward will catch their share of short ones and that should set up the running game.
Especially considering that the weather will be horrible, cold and windy in Pittsburgh, it’s all over but the shouting, except for Steelers fans, of course, who should be raising quite a ruckus most of the day. This one could even get ugly, depending upon how much poise the Chargers can muster late in the game. All things considered, I’d think it’ll be about 35-20 in the Steelers favor, the 35 to include a couple of defensive TD’s off Chargers fumbles and interceptions.
Then it’ll be Eagles-Panthers and Ravens-Steelers. Those will be wars.
The eight teams playing this weekend have their own special players. Some of them are hurt, allegedly at least….you can never really tell with the scarceness of information available to the public. You thus can’t gauge how effective that player will be in the game, how long he’ll play and whether he’ll become just a normal player in terms of effectiveness. It’s usually a question mark whether his replacement is any good.
Take Kevin Mawae, for example. He’s “just” the center for the Titans, but on a team as run-oriented they are, it’s a big hit on them if they lose Mawae, especially if his replacement can’t play. As it turns out, Mawae’s just been officially listed as “out”, very bad news for the Titans.
Tennessee wasn’t able to run on 12/28 against the Colts, losing 23-0. They had a bye for the first week of the playoffs. Against a Ravens defense that stuffs the run, you have to like the Ravens chances for an upset. The Ravens have at least two special players on defense, LB Ray Lewis and S Ed Reed, and they’re healthy.
Of course Tennessee also has a big-time defense, featuring linemen Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vandenbosch. But they’re coming off recent injuries and their performance on Saturday is thus open to question. All in all, I’d say it’ll be bye-bye Titans in a relatively low-scoring affair. The Ravens will pound the ball and dominate time of possession, which ordinarily would be the Titans type of game. But not tomorrow. Ravens 16-13.
The 4:30 game tomorrow pits the surprising Arizona Cards against the tough Carolina Panthers at Carolina. Special players abound for the Panthers and they’re all healthy. Those two tough running backs, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, and Steve Smith, wide receiver extraordinaire, are all ready to go. On defense, they have Julius Peppers ready for bear, or, um, bird.
The Cards looked special last week against the Falcons but they could be without Anquan Boldin, or he’ll play somewhat nicked-up. That’s a huge hit, the Panthers will just concentrate on stopping Fitzgerald. The Cards have Breaston too but he’s not Boldin. And Edgerrin James won’t make the difference either. Look for the Panthers to score a lot and the Cards to try keeping up all game, unsuccessfully. It’ll be Panthers 30-20. Pray that Kurt Warner lasts the entire game.
Sunday’s first game has our G-Men facing the Eagles at Giants Stadium. The most special Giants players are gone for one reason or another. The real superstar, Osi Umenyiora, is the guy who made Eagles tackle Winston Justice look so bad last year. He may not look so bad against a nicked-up Justin Tuck.
The Eagles have their own special guys, McNabb and Westbrook, of course, but you might add DeSean Jackson to that list. They’re all healthy and coming off some very big wins, one of which was against the Giants. The Eagles also sport some very nice secondary people, big-hitter Brian Dawkins and a guy named Asante Samuel.
The Giants only special feature is their running game. As impressive as it can be, I don’t think it will be on Sunday. The Eagles will put eight in the box all afternoon. They’ll force Manning to pass to those workmanlike receivers, Toomer and Smith and Hixon.
Although you could make a case for Brandon Jacobs and that offensive line being very special, it won’t be enough against a team playing run. I don’t see anybody stretching the field for the Giants. Sunday will make the loss of Plaxico very apparent indeed.
The Giants inability to exert any pressure on McNabb will create more than a few opportunities for long (and usually boring) Eagles drives. The Eagles should be able to take the lead and then probably force some turnovers from Eli and those wide-outs in the second half. The Eagles inability to score in the red zone will continue though, thus depressing the score somewhat, but it’ll still be Eagles 26-20.
The Chargers face the Steelers in Sunday’s late game. The Chargers have some special players in their quarterback, Philip Rivers, and their tight end, Antonio Gates. They’ll be without LaDainian though, and Darren Sproles may find the Steelers a harder bunch to hide from than were the Falcons.
The Steelers have Troy Polamalu who has been just unbelievable all year. He stops everything, the run, the pass, you name it. Then there’s that Defensive MVP James Harrison and a fella named Farrior who’s usually quite good, especially against the pass.
I just can’t imagine the Chargers winning this one. Rivers has been great this year, but he’ll have less time than he’s used to getting, and his receivers will be covered. Sproles will be stopped. The Steelers behind Roethlisberger will display some long, boring drives of their own. The Chargers won’t be able to stop it, despite having a couple of good corners. Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward will catch their share of short ones and that should set up the running game.
Especially considering that the weather will be horrible, cold and windy in Pittsburgh, it’s all over but the shouting, except for Steelers fans, of course, who should be raising quite a ruckus most of the day. This one could even get ugly, depending upon how much poise the Chargers can muster late in the game. All things considered, I’d think it’ll be about 35-20 in the Steelers favor, the 35 to include a couple of defensive TD’s off Chargers fumbles and interceptions.
Then it’ll be Eagles-Panthers and Ravens-Steelers. Those will be wars.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Holy Cow ! Winning is Risky !!
Holy Cow! Almost lost against the backdrop of NFL playoff games have been some very interesting baseball developments, not just signings but also the behind-the-scenes skullduggery among the various contenders for the talent that’s still out there.
For me, two signings take precedence. Both of them relate to the Yanks recent finalization of their humongous contract with Mark Teixeira, the wunderkind first baseman, who of course got 22.5 million dollars per year for eight long years.
First, I’m very happy for Jason Giambi, who Teixeira is replacing. Jason landed back in Oakland, the team for which he built his formidable reputation as a hitter for both average and power. That Oakland legacy was enough to inspire the Yankees to sign Giambi seven years ago for record numbers.
Sadly for Jason and Yankees fans, that signing never really bore fruit in terms of World Series victories. The prevailing remembrances for most New Yorkers of Giambi’s New York service will be steroids and a fervent wish that the Yanks had kept Tino.
But for the true baseball aficionado, Jason Giambi was a potent presence in the Yanks lineup, more than capable of knocking one over the wall or, at the very least, to draw a base on balls after coaxing about ten more pitches out of their opponent’s starter. If he had any speed on the bases, or anywhere for that matter, Jason would have been even more valuable.
Giambi will be missed in New York, I suspect, much as Tino Martinez was before him. Not because Mark Teixeira can’t play the game, but just as a Yankees presence and overall good guy and teammate. Giambi was always affable with the media, too, even after some rough nights in the field.
But his gaffes in the field and his lack of speed on the base paths severely limited his overall value and suppressed his runs scored quite severely. Surely though, he was valued by his teammates and management as a hard-nosed player who wanted to win. But in hindsight, he surely was not the player the Yanks had envisioned.
The second signing I’ve been anxiously awaiting took place yesterday. That would be the Indians signing of a true Yankees disaster, Carl Pavano, probably the biggest mistake the Yankees, or any team for that matter, has ever made in free agency except perhaps for the Albert Belle fiasco.
Pavano was beset by injuries throughout the term of his 4-year $50 million contract with the Yanks and pitched just 26 starts in four years. That’s basically 2 mill per start. Even the Roger Clemens partial-year deal doesn’t compare in sheer magnitude of loss.
But what makes this deal most intriguing is its structure. It’s for one year only at 1.5 mill, but Carl can make as much as 5.3 mill with 18 starts, not a bad deal for anyone concerned really. What makes this even better is that Pavano may be pitching against the Yankees in the middle of April, at the new stadium, as the Indians third starter behind Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona.
Those two signings typify the risk involved for teams and players in free agency. It appears that only the major league players, like New York, Boston, Philly, LA…. can even contend for the really big earners, your Teixeiras and Mannys and Sabathias. Cleveland can’t compete for Sabathia or Burnet maybe but they can wind up picking up a potentially great pitcher for fair value.
If Pavano doesn’t make his starts number, he walks away with just 1.5 million. But, if he does win 15 or more games, and as he’s already undergone the arm surgery, his chances of doing just that are quite good, he’ll make, say, 5 million. That’s just 300K per win, and, figuring 25 starts, just 200k per start.
It’s good for the game that a team such as the Indians can still pick up a bargain and actually compete. And it’s just as good, if not better, that a team such as the Yankees or Boston can make such huge mistakes. Surely a Milwaukee can’t be so colossally stupid!
That’s not to say that the signings of Sabathia and Burnet and Teixeira are stupid. But the risk is pretty large. Ask yourself what are the chances that Teixeira will put in even close to eight full seasons. He’s a big fellow, he’ll be 29 in April and he’ll be playing the lion’s share of his contract years in his thirties, the last three years in his 35’s, so to speak.
Burnet’s getting 82.5 mill for 5 years and he’s already 32. Sabathia got better money, 7 years for 161 mill. He’s another big guy but he’s only 28 and he seems to throw effortlessly most of the time. The chances are pretty good, though, that all three free agents won’t finish their contracts in one piece.
To say the very least, the Yankees will be paying 3 or 4 times the Indians rate per win, and waaaay more than that for RBI’s. Ryan Garko, Cleveland’s first baseman, had 90 rbi’s in 2008 and 14 homers in 495 at bats. Teixeira averages over 100 ribbies per year and is a career .290 hitter. Garko makes about 420K. Their best player, Grady Sizemore, makes about 3 mill and their biggest bust is Travis Hafner, who only pulls down about 8 million.
What the big teams are really paying for is the surety of winning, the percentage chances of winning it all. That’s why the New York-Boston battle is so intriguing. Only God and the Yankees know what winning the title is really worth. It must exceed the marginal cost of these players, especially if you introduce the factor that these contracts are usually insured.
In the last ten years, big-market teams have made the World Series contests 12 times. But the little guys have made it 8 times, including Tampa Bay, Colorado, St Louis twice, Houston, Florida, Arizona and Atlanta.
Money alone won’t always make the difference. Holy Cow!
For me, two signings take precedence. Both of them relate to the Yanks recent finalization of their humongous contract with Mark Teixeira, the wunderkind first baseman, who of course got 22.5 million dollars per year for eight long years.
First, I’m very happy for Jason Giambi, who Teixeira is replacing. Jason landed back in Oakland, the team for which he built his formidable reputation as a hitter for both average and power. That Oakland legacy was enough to inspire the Yankees to sign Giambi seven years ago for record numbers.
Sadly for Jason and Yankees fans, that signing never really bore fruit in terms of World Series victories. The prevailing remembrances for most New Yorkers of Giambi’s New York service will be steroids and a fervent wish that the Yanks had kept Tino.
But for the true baseball aficionado, Jason Giambi was a potent presence in the Yanks lineup, more than capable of knocking one over the wall or, at the very least, to draw a base on balls after coaxing about ten more pitches out of their opponent’s starter. If he had any speed on the bases, or anywhere for that matter, Jason would have been even more valuable.
Giambi will be missed in New York, I suspect, much as Tino Martinez was before him. Not because Mark Teixeira can’t play the game, but just as a Yankees presence and overall good guy and teammate. Giambi was always affable with the media, too, even after some rough nights in the field.
But his gaffes in the field and his lack of speed on the base paths severely limited his overall value and suppressed his runs scored quite severely. Surely though, he was valued by his teammates and management as a hard-nosed player who wanted to win. But in hindsight, he surely was not the player the Yanks had envisioned.
The second signing I’ve been anxiously awaiting took place yesterday. That would be the Indians signing of a true Yankees disaster, Carl Pavano, probably the biggest mistake the Yankees, or any team for that matter, has ever made in free agency except perhaps for the Albert Belle fiasco.
Pavano was beset by injuries throughout the term of his 4-year $50 million contract with the Yanks and pitched just 26 starts in four years. That’s basically 2 mill per start. Even the Roger Clemens partial-year deal doesn’t compare in sheer magnitude of loss.
But what makes this deal most intriguing is its structure. It’s for one year only at 1.5 mill, but Carl can make as much as 5.3 mill with 18 starts, not a bad deal for anyone concerned really. What makes this even better is that Pavano may be pitching against the Yankees in the middle of April, at the new stadium, as the Indians third starter behind Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona.
Those two signings typify the risk involved for teams and players in free agency. It appears that only the major league players, like New York, Boston, Philly, LA…. can even contend for the really big earners, your Teixeiras and Mannys and Sabathias. Cleveland can’t compete for Sabathia or Burnet maybe but they can wind up picking up a potentially great pitcher for fair value.
If Pavano doesn’t make his starts number, he walks away with just 1.5 million. But, if he does win 15 or more games, and as he’s already undergone the arm surgery, his chances of doing just that are quite good, he’ll make, say, 5 million. That’s just 300K per win, and, figuring 25 starts, just 200k per start.
It’s good for the game that a team such as the Indians can still pick up a bargain and actually compete. And it’s just as good, if not better, that a team such as the Yankees or Boston can make such huge mistakes. Surely a Milwaukee can’t be so colossally stupid!
That’s not to say that the signings of Sabathia and Burnet and Teixeira are stupid. But the risk is pretty large. Ask yourself what are the chances that Teixeira will put in even close to eight full seasons. He’s a big fellow, he’ll be 29 in April and he’ll be playing the lion’s share of his contract years in his thirties, the last three years in his 35’s, so to speak.
Burnet’s getting 82.5 mill for 5 years and he’s already 32. Sabathia got better money, 7 years for 161 mill. He’s another big guy but he’s only 28 and he seems to throw effortlessly most of the time. The chances are pretty good, though, that all three free agents won’t finish their contracts in one piece.
To say the very least, the Yankees will be paying 3 or 4 times the Indians rate per win, and waaaay more than that for RBI’s. Ryan Garko, Cleveland’s first baseman, had 90 rbi’s in 2008 and 14 homers in 495 at bats. Teixeira averages over 100 ribbies per year and is a career .290 hitter. Garko makes about 420K. Their best player, Grady Sizemore, makes about 3 mill and their biggest bust is Travis Hafner, who only pulls down about 8 million.
What the big teams are really paying for is the surety of winning, the percentage chances of winning it all. That’s why the New York-Boston battle is so intriguing. Only God and the Yankees know what winning the title is really worth. It must exceed the marginal cost of these players, especially if you introduce the factor that these contracts are usually insured.
In the last ten years, big-market teams have made the World Series contests 12 times. But the little guys have made it 8 times, including Tampa Bay, Colorado, St Louis twice, Houston, Florida, Arizona and Atlanta.
Money alone won’t always make the difference. Holy Cow!
Monday, January 5, 2009
On Eagles, Giants and Johnsons
It’s really easy to hate the Eagles. No running game to speak of….there’s Brian Westbrook of course, but somehow he’s just not that inspirational. Yesterday, he scored on a screen, typical of the kind of garbage offense on which Westbrook and McNabb seem to thrive.
Their passing game looked a little better yesterday than I am used to seeing from them. DeSean Jackson was fun to watch and Kevin Curtis looked good too. McNabb was his old self, eluding a fierce rush more often than not and firing darts at the last moment to a bunch of receivers that had maybe a foot of separation from their defender.
Then there’s their vaunted defense, featuring cheap-shot artist Brian Dawkins. I’m sorry, I know he’s a great player but his hit on Adrian Peterson while he was down (some will say he was on his way down but Peterson was down) really ticked me off. Like the NBA, I guess, the longer you’ve been doing it, the better the calls.
Then there’s Andy Reid, the epitome of boring, that is, until you compare him to Brad Childress, the Vikings head coach. What a poor excuse for a head coach is Childress. I would have won that game as the head coach. I’ll just pick two situations in which Childress showed his lack of intellect, his utter lack of a feel for the game.
The first was his decision to refuse a holding penalty in the first quarter, thus leaving David Akers well within his field goal range and give the Eagles the lead. The lead is an important thing to have in any endeavor, of course, but in football, it’s especially nice. It changes the whole game a bit in favor of the guys with the lead.
Then in the second quarter, Adrian Peterson had just run on first down for six yards through that supposedly tough Eagles run defense. He came back to the huddle exuding confidence and ready for more pounding. You could see he was thinking it would be easy. But he would never get the opportunity.
Childress called a pass on 2nd and 4! With the best running back in football rearing to go, chomping at the bit for another chance. With an inexperienced QB in his first playoff game. The pass was incomplete, of course. Childress still had a chance on 3rd and 4 but he eschewed the run again for still another ill-advised pass.
But this one wasn’t just ill-advised, it was reckless, a pass to the flat. And, of course, Asante Samuel picked it off and ran for 40 yards or so and it was all over but the shoutin’. It was the key play of the game, changing the momentum and putting the offensively-challenged Birds into the end zone for the first time.
Peterson wouldn’t get that many more opportunities. Maybe it was because of Dawkins’s cheap shot on Peterson earlier. We certainly saw a lot of Chester Taylor yesterday, no slouch himself, but incapable of wreaking the havoc of a Peterson.
Oh well, it’s over. One more ridiculous coach and his team bites the dust, at home in front of all of its fans. The Vikings had the best offense, they had the best defense and they had the better team all around but they would go home with that empty feeling, wondering perhaps what could have happened if they had a real head coach on the sidelines.
I should probably be happy. The weaker team advanced, and as there’s still a chance for our G-Men, they’ll simply have to put a pounding on the Eagles rather than having to face the Vikings somewhere down the road. Of course, the Eagles don’t give games away, which might be a bit of a problem.
Why are all the tough guys in Philadelphia? There’s Dawkins, of course, but there was also Jimmy Rollins. And that pain in the butt at 2nd base. And that guy in the outfield who only hit against the Mets. And that other guy who only hit in the clutch.
Giants fans can only hope the G-Men will change up their defensive gameplan this time around. Otherwise, they’ll lose. The G-Men got just one sack vs. Philly in Week 14 and they lost 20-14. I’m hoping they have some stuff up their sleeves as they did against the Pats in the Super Bowl, after having lost to them in Week 17 of last year.
There were also some extenuating circumstances in that Week 14 game, the first after Plax’s suspension and after Antonio Pierce’s grilling by the police. But, more than that, Jacobs hurt his knee in the third quarter and didn’t return. And Hixon dropped a sure touchdown that hit him in the hands.
I wish I could feel better about this upcoming Eagles contest. You don’t feel the same magic with this Giants team as you did with last year’s team. There is no Osi and no Strahan. There is no Plaxico. Hixon is not Plax. And Sinorice Moss doesn’t adequately spell Hixon as a return man.
That doesn’t mean they can’t beat the Eagles but one can’t expect too much. They’ll be at home, but that doesn’t make me feel that much better. They’re just not as versatile as last year’s version that could run the ball, pass the ball and play great on specials too. This version seems more like Brandon Jacobs and a cloud of dust.
Meanwhile, the Jets coaching search allegedly continues and the list of potential candidates grows longer and longer. But it’s a sham, I think. The winner will be whoever Jets owner Woody Johnson likes, and his mouthpiece Mr. Tannenbaum. I can’t root for a team that, literally, thinks with its Johnson.
The whole process kinda reminds me of that old joke, the punchline of which is “the one with the big”, um, oh never mind. Oh well, Jets fans, “if it works out, it works out, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t”.
Their passing game looked a little better yesterday than I am used to seeing from them. DeSean Jackson was fun to watch and Kevin Curtis looked good too. McNabb was his old self, eluding a fierce rush more often than not and firing darts at the last moment to a bunch of receivers that had maybe a foot of separation from their defender.
Then there’s their vaunted defense, featuring cheap-shot artist Brian Dawkins. I’m sorry, I know he’s a great player but his hit on Adrian Peterson while he was down (some will say he was on his way down but Peterson was down) really ticked me off. Like the NBA, I guess, the longer you’ve been doing it, the better the calls.
Then there’s Andy Reid, the epitome of boring, that is, until you compare him to Brad Childress, the Vikings head coach. What a poor excuse for a head coach is Childress. I would have won that game as the head coach. I’ll just pick two situations in which Childress showed his lack of intellect, his utter lack of a feel for the game.
The first was his decision to refuse a holding penalty in the first quarter, thus leaving David Akers well within his field goal range and give the Eagles the lead. The lead is an important thing to have in any endeavor, of course, but in football, it’s especially nice. It changes the whole game a bit in favor of the guys with the lead.
Then in the second quarter, Adrian Peterson had just run on first down for six yards through that supposedly tough Eagles run defense. He came back to the huddle exuding confidence and ready for more pounding. You could see he was thinking it would be easy. But he would never get the opportunity.
Childress called a pass on 2nd and 4! With the best running back in football rearing to go, chomping at the bit for another chance. With an inexperienced QB in his first playoff game. The pass was incomplete, of course. Childress still had a chance on 3rd and 4 but he eschewed the run again for still another ill-advised pass.
But this one wasn’t just ill-advised, it was reckless, a pass to the flat. And, of course, Asante Samuel picked it off and ran for 40 yards or so and it was all over but the shoutin’. It was the key play of the game, changing the momentum and putting the offensively-challenged Birds into the end zone for the first time.
Peterson wouldn’t get that many more opportunities. Maybe it was because of Dawkins’s cheap shot on Peterson earlier. We certainly saw a lot of Chester Taylor yesterday, no slouch himself, but incapable of wreaking the havoc of a Peterson.
Oh well, it’s over. One more ridiculous coach and his team bites the dust, at home in front of all of its fans. The Vikings had the best offense, they had the best defense and they had the better team all around but they would go home with that empty feeling, wondering perhaps what could have happened if they had a real head coach on the sidelines.
I should probably be happy. The weaker team advanced, and as there’s still a chance for our G-Men, they’ll simply have to put a pounding on the Eagles rather than having to face the Vikings somewhere down the road. Of course, the Eagles don’t give games away, which might be a bit of a problem.
Why are all the tough guys in Philadelphia? There’s Dawkins, of course, but there was also Jimmy Rollins. And that pain in the butt at 2nd base. And that guy in the outfield who only hit against the Mets. And that other guy who only hit in the clutch.
Giants fans can only hope the G-Men will change up their defensive gameplan this time around. Otherwise, they’ll lose. The G-Men got just one sack vs. Philly in Week 14 and they lost 20-14. I’m hoping they have some stuff up their sleeves as they did against the Pats in the Super Bowl, after having lost to them in Week 17 of last year.
There were also some extenuating circumstances in that Week 14 game, the first after Plax’s suspension and after Antonio Pierce’s grilling by the police. But, more than that, Jacobs hurt his knee in the third quarter and didn’t return. And Hixon dropped a sure touchdown that hit him in the hands.
I wish I could feel better about this upcoming Eagles contest. You don’t feel the same magic with this Giants team as you did with last year’s team. There is no Osi and no Strahan. There is no Plaxico. Hixon is not Plax. And Sinorice Moss doesn’t adequately spell Hixon as a return man.
That doesn’t mean they can’t beat the Eagles but one can’t expect too much. They’ll be at home, but that doesn’t make me feel that much better. They’re just not as versatile as last year’s version that could run the ball, pass the ball and play great on specials too. This version seems more like Brandon Jacobs and a cloud of dust.
Meanwhile, the Jets coaching search allegedly continues and the list of potential candidates grows longer and longer. But it’s a sham, I think. The winner will be whoever Jets owner Woody Johnson likes, and his mouthpiece Mr. Tannenbaum. I can’t root for a team that, literally, thinks with its Johnson.
The whole process kinda reminds me of that old joke, the punchline of which is “the one with the big”, um, oh never mind. Oh well, Jets fans, “if it works out, it works out, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t”.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
On Playoffs and Proverbial Justice
Was there ever a more ridiculous start to the playoffs? Arizona? The team that gave up on national TV against the Pats just a couple of weeks ago? San Diego? The team that had to come back from 4 and 8 to finally finish off the hapless Denver Broncos in the pitiful AFC West?
I wouldn’t have ever picked Arizona to win anything… to beat anyone. My money was on the balanced team, the team with heart, the team with the Rookie of the Year. It was inconceivable that these Arizona quitters would beat a quality team.
That they did beat the Falcons quite handily makes me wonder what the heck they were doing and thinking for the last month or so. It shouldn’t be allowed. No team that lies down as they did against New England deserves any good fortune, especially if it’s true that good teams make their own luck.
Michael Turner would make mincemeat of those quitters, I thought. Then the big Falcons bruiser started skipping around like some demented ballerina. He gained less than 60 yards on the day and he looked bad doing it. He didn’t run hard once.
The Falcons passing game was equally inept. Their receivers can’t catch. Roddy White? A joke. Michael Jenkins? Horrible. No hands at all. Ryan would hit them in the hands and they’d just refuse to make the catch.
Meanwhile, the Falcons gave Kurt Warner all the time in the world. John Abraham? Nothing. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin just ate them up. In the final analysis, when they finally did fight their way back into the game, their defense let the Cardinal tight end run free up the middle, picking up the first down the Cards so desperately needed.
So much for risk analysis. I have seldom felt more sure about any outcome. The Cards were unreal today. All of a sudden, they had a running game. Where the heck had THAT been all year? When did they learn how to stop the run? Apparently, it was yesterday.
The Falcons made Edgerrin James look like….well….. the old Edgerrin James. Come to think of it, you couldn’t find one player in red who had a bad game. But Edge was great, slashing left, slashing right, then BOOM! Warner to Fitzgerald TD for about 50 yards. Then it was Anquan Boldin racing down the sidelines for another score after catching a 7-yard pass in the flat.
Then it got surreal. Darnell Dockett? Antrel Rolle? Touchdown! Then there was some more Edgerrin. There was Matt Ryan holding the ball too long in the end zone for an easy safety. What a nightmare!
I know I should just be happy for the Cards but it’s tough. They played really terrific football. Offensively, defensively, on special teams, they were just great. So I lost a bet. I’ll get over it, maybe not this year but eventually.
In the Chargers-Colts matchup, the Chargers punter won the game for them. Yeah, there was little Darren Sproles hiding behind his blockers and making the Colts look silly. And yeah, there were the usual suspects, Rivers and a hurt Tomlinson and Gates. Oh yeah, and the Charger corners were pretty much in evidence too.
But the Chargers punter was in a zone, as they say. The Colts were starting all their drives inside their ten-yard line. It’s a long haul, trying to drive a team 90 yards time after time after time. Not even the 2008 MVP, the great Peyton Manning, could do that.
That punter’s name is Mike Scifres. I’ll remember that now, even the rather fluky spelling. Mr. Scifres punted six times for 52.7 yards per pop. The Colts started drives from their 10, 19, 3, 33, 7, 20, 26, 9, 20, 1, 1 again, and then the19-yard line.
When the Chargers finally did enough offensively to tie the game in regulation, you knew the game was over. The Colts had seen enough. It was just the Chargers day.
Oh well, the games continue tomorrow. I’ll be picking the Vikings against the Eagles and the Ravens to take out the Fish, Chad Pennington notwithstanding. How could the Dolphins run the ball against that Ray Lewis and Company? How can they stop those bruising Ravens runners?
How can the Eagles stop Adrian Peterson? And shouldn’t it be a snap for the tough Vikings to take Brian Westbrook out of the game? Who else is a threat on that puny Eagles team? Can a guy who doesn’t know that NFL games can end in a tie really lead his team to victory in the land of Paul Bunyan?
Hmm, this is all sounding strangely familiar. I’ve built up this scenario in my head for the Vikings and the Ravens, and it’s hard to imagine my being totally wrong two days in a row. So, count on it, Donovan McNabb will have the game of his life and Pennington will once again surprise the entire football world by continuing to prevail against the biggest, baddest opponents out there.
As far as I’m concerned, Chad has done quite enough already. His steady performance against the Jets to knock them AND the Patriots out of the playoffs puts him in my good graces until the end of time. Proverbial justice. What a concept.
And, speaking of proverbial justice, why do I get the feeling that, no matter who the Jets pick to succeed Eric Mangini as head coach, it’ll be an abomination. Any owner stupid enough to take his quarterback’s side against his head coach and the rest of the team pretty much deserves anything the fates can conjure up to torture him.
It’s sad, very sad, but in Jets-Land it’s all about the money. The owner not only doesn’t understand football; he doesn’t even understand human nature. He just wants a bunch of sycophants to kiss his pharmaceutically-rich butt. He likes Brett Favre and he’ll be damned if he’ll have anyone tell him differently.
My guess is that he will be damned.
I wouldn’t have ever picked Arizona to win anything… to beat anyone. My money was on the balanced team, the team with heart, the team with the Rookie of the Year. It was inconceivable that these Arizona quitters would beat a quality team.
That they did beat the Falcons quite handily makes me wonder what the heck they were doing and thinking for the last month or so. It shouldn’t be allowed. No team that lies down as they did against New England deserves any good fortune, especially if it’s true that good teams make their own luck.
Michael Turner would make mincemeat of those quitters, I thought. Then the big Falcons bruiser started skipping around like some demented ballerina. He gained less than 60 yards on the day and he looked bad doing it. He didn’t run hard once.
The Falcons passing game was equally inept. Their receivers can’t catch. Roddy White? A joke. Michael Jenkins? Horrible. No hands at all. Ryan would hit them in the hands and they’d just refuse to make the catch.
Meanwhile, the Falcons gave Kurt Warner all the time in the world. John Abraham? Nothing. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin just ate them up. In the final analysis, when they finally did fight their way back into the game, their defense let the Cardinal tight end run free up the middle, picking up the first down the Cards so desperately needed.
So much for risk analysis. I have seldom felt more sure about any outcome. The Cards were unreal today. All of a sudden, they had a running game. Where the heck had THAT been all year? When did they learn how to stop the run? Apparently, it was yesterday.
The Falcons made Edgerrin James look like….well….. the old Edgerrin James. Come to think of it, you couldn’t find one player in red who had a bad game. But Edge was great, slashing left, slashing right, then BOOM! Warner to Fitzgerald TD for about 50 yards. Then it was Anquan Boldin racing down the sidelines for another score after catching a 7-yard pass in the flat.
Then it got surreal. Darnell Dockett? Antrel Rolle? Touchdown! Then there was some more Edgerrin. There was Matt Ryan holding the ball too long in the end zone for an easy safety. What a nightmare!
I know I should just be happy for the Cards but it’s tough. They played really terrific football. Offensively, defensively, on special teams, they were just great. So I lost a bet. I’ll get over it, maybe not this year but eventually.
In the Chargers-Colts matchup, the Chargers punter won the game for them. Yeah, there was little Darren Sproles hiding behind his blockers and making the Colts look silly. And yeah, there were the usual suspects, Rivers and a hurt Tomlinson and Gates. Oh yeah, and the Charger corners were pretty much in evidence too.
But the Chargers punter was in a zone, as they say. The Colts were starting all their drives inside their ten-yard line. It’s a long haul, trying to drive a team 90 yards time after time after time. Not even the 2008 MVP, the great Peyton Manning, could do that.
That punter’s name is Mike Scifres. I’ll remember that now, even the rather fluky spelling. Mr. Scifres punted six times for 52.7 yards per pop. The Colts started drives from their 10, 19, 3, 33, 7, 20, 26, 9, 20, 1, 1 again, and then the19-yard line.
When the Chargers finally did enough offensively to tie the game in regulation, you knew the game was over. The Colts had seen enough. It was just the Chargers day.
Oh well, the games continue tomorrow. I’ll be picking the Vikings against the Eagles and the Ravens to take out the Fish, Chad Pennington notwithstanding. How could the Dolphins run the ball against that Ray Lewis and Company? How can they stop those bruising Ravens runners?
How can the Eagles stop Adrian Peterson? And shouldn’t it be a snap for the tough Vikings to take Brian Westbrook out of the game? Who else is a threat on that puny Eagles team? Can a guy who doesn’t know that NFL games can end in a tie really lead his team to victory in the land of Paul Bunyan?
Hmm, this is all sounding strangely familiar. I’ve built up this scenario in my head for the Vikings and the Ravens, and it’s hard to imagine my being totally wrong two days in a row. So, count on it, Donovan McNabb will have the game of his life and Pennington will once again surprise the entire football world by continuing to prevail against the biggest, baddest opponents out there.
As far as I’m concerned, Chad has done quite enough already. His steady performance against the Jets to knock them AND the Patriots out of the playoffs puts him in my good graces until the end of time. Proverbial justice. What a concept.
And, speaking of proverbial justice, why do I get the feeling that, no matter who the Jets pick to succeed Eric Mangini as head coach, it’ll be an abomination. Any owner stupid enough to take his quarterback’s side against his head coach and the rest of the team pretty much deserves anything the fates can conjure up to torture him.
It’s sad, very sad, but in Jets-Land it’s all about the money. The owner not only doesn’t understand football; he doesn’t even understand human nature. He just wants a bunch of sycophants to kiss his pharmaceutically-rich butt. He likes Brett Favre and he’ll be damned if he’ll have anyone tell him differently.
My guess is that he will be damned.
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