Sorry everyone for not posting again last night. I forgot I had a fraternity meeting to attend and didn't have time to write.
The first Sunday of the season didn't disappoint, here are a few notable headlines:
Bears edge Lions on controversial non-touchdown catch by Calvin Johnson.
Patriots show up, blowout Bengals in first half.
Texans shock NFL, beat Colts by double digits.
CJ2K doesn't disappoint, Titans blow out Raiders.
Green Bay holds on against Vick-led Eagles, Kolb out with concussion.
Seattle surprises San Fran, blows them out 31-6.
Skins beat 'Boys in a SNF sleeper, 13-7.
Are You Ready for Some Football?
MNF has finally arrived and my Jets take on the Baltimore Ravens. This game is going to be a ground-n-pound, grind it out, hard-hitting contest. Mark Sanchez, better known as Nacho Taco (reference to him wearing a Taco Bell hat in "Hard Knocks"), looks to prove his doubters wrong by not making too many costly mistakes.
The Sanchise looks to take advantage of a supposedly-weakened Ravens secondary. This is the biggest key to the game. It will be the Ravens biggest weakness against the Jets biggest weakness, and whichever one can take advantage of the other should have a large advantage in this game. Both teams will look to run the ball effectively, but both teams will be passing situations eventually.
It will be interesting to see how the Ravens use their new acquisitions of WR T.J. Housh and CB Josh Wilson. Both players have only been with Baltimore for a few weeks, and will not be as familar with the playbook etc. Also, Flacco will not have the type of chemistry that would be ideal against a team with a good pass defense.
Personally, I think the Jets will win in a close one, but if they come out flat the Ravens could beat them handily.
My Prediction: Jets (-2.5) 20 Ravens 17
Watch Out For:
Ray Rice and screen plays.
Vernon Gholston to maybe make a tackle?
Mark Sanchez, one mistake might lead to more?
Jets secondary against a revamped Ravens receiving corps.
Jets trying to run against the Ravens front seven.
By Dan Rodgers There seems to be a new trend headlining the NFL this off-season:
Release your 30+ year-old running back because his production is going to drop off. Personally, I am not yet sure how I feel about this. The Jets are set to release Thomas Jones tomorrow; this after arguably his best year as a pro. He set a career high tallying just over 1,400 yards and also had a career high with 14 rushing touchdowns. This all while being 31-years-old. However, he will be 32 by the time next season rolls around and he is due 2.8 million in salary and 3 million in roster bonuses (whatever that means).
The dilemma now becomes (for the Jets): They have Jones, who was third in the NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. They also have Shonn Greene, who in his rookie year led the NFL in post season rushing yards. Not to mention, they have Leon Washington who is one of the most explosive backs in the NFL. Even though Washington is coming off injury, it is the same injury Darren Sproles returned from effectively.
Note: By releasing Jones, he becomes available to every team in the final eight...including the Patriots.
Other 30+ year-old backs that have been released include Brian Westbrook and LaDanian Tomlinson. The Eagles are expected to have LeSean McCoy step right in as the feature back. The Chargers are expected to solve their situation in the draft, through free agency or both because they might also lose Darren Sproles to restricted free agency.
My prediction is that this trend is happening due to the overwhelming depth at running back in this league. Most teams run a two-back set in some way or another. Even the amazing Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson share the load with Chester Taylor and LenDale White.
Look for Jones, Westbrook, and LT get forced to take huge pay cuts if they want to play for a contender. Unless they want to finish their career out with a team like the Rams/Raiders/Lions they will not get feature back money.
Where they'll end up:
Look for LT to go to a team like the Texans where he can share time and tutor Steve Slaton.
Westbrook will probably end up going to a team like the Vikings. He won't get double digit carries but will be a pivotal third down back.
Jones, unfortunately, will get brought in by a team like the Pats or Eagles. The Pats love bringing in old backs for cheap to get the ball the five times they don't throw it. The Eagles would be a good fit because he could get some goal-line and short yardage carries without being worn out. He would complement McCoy well.
Here's a pretty little number on the 2009 NFL Awards and how I feel about them...
NFL MVP: QB Peyton Manning - IND Manning won MVP in a landslide by taking 39 1/2 out of 50 points. Drew Brees was in second with a measly 7 1/2 points. I find it criminal that Chris Johnson did not receive any votes. Even though Brees and Manning led their teams to 13-0 marks, Johnson broke the NFL record for yards from scrimmage which included 2,006 rushing. Johnson is only the sixth rusher in NFL history to eccplise the 2,000 yard mark. I also believe that Brees was a more important asset to his team and had to accomplish more because the Colts have shown domination in the recent past. But congrats to Peyton for his fourth, only player in history to have won four MVP's.
NFL OROY: WR (R)Percy Harvin - MIN I can't disagree with Percy winning the award, however, I do disagree with the list of votes and the landslide Harvin won in. I might be a little bit biased, but I feel like since Mark Sanchez led his team to the playoffs he deserved at least one vote. Harvin finished with 41 votes, Ravens LT Michael Oher finished in second with six votes. Jeremy Maclin, Knowshon Moreno and Mike Wallace all received a single vote. Percy had six receiving touchdowns, two return touchdowns and was selected to the pro bowl.
NFL DROY: OLB (R)Brian Cushing - HOU The only thing I don't like about the way this award played out is that Brian Orakpo only received two votes. He had 11 sacks and made the pro bowl. I think his season was overshadowed by an absolutely embarrassing Redskins season. Cushing did have an impressive season, also getting elected to the pro bowl with over 80 tackles, five sacks and four picks.
NFL OPOY: RB Chris Johnson - TEN Chris Johnson had an incredible, MVP worthy season, but for some reason he did not receive a single vote. He rightly earned offensive player of the year, but I would think that due to that and his breaking records he would be considered for MVP. I completely agree with this award, but I think that Johnson got screwed out of MVP consideration...that's my only beef.
NFL DPOY: CB Charles Woodson - GB I am not going to pull a Rex Ryan, but I do believe that Darrelle Revis is the best cornerback in the NFL and had a much better season. Woodson was impressive with 80-plus tackles, three touchdowns, 21 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and was tied for the league lead in interceptions with nine. While all those stats are incredibly impressive, one "stat" that doesn't really exist is how well the opposing receiver does against you. Woodson constantly would give up big plays to his opposition. Revis faced the best receivers in the game (Moss, Owens, Colston, Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, Ochocinco, Roddy White, and Reggie Wayne) and shut every single one of them down. Not to mention he had 32 passed defensed and six interceptions. Oh and by the way, Revis' team is still in the playoffs because of good defense, and the Packers are eliminated because of record-setting bad pass defense.
NFL Comeback Player of the Year: QB Tom Brady - NE This is kind of an easy one because he was an MVP candidate before he got injured, and now that he is back to relatively full strength it seems like it would be an easy choice. However, take nothing away from Cadillac Williams and Cedric Benson because they had great years. All-stars coming back from injury are easy choices for this award...nothing else to say.
NFL Coach of the Year: Marvin Lewis - CIN This was fairly clear cut even though the Jets had a rookie head coach and rookie quarterback and made the playoffs, beating Lewis and his Bengals. The Texans also had their first above .500 year, but that is only a one game improvement from last year. If Josh McDaniels and the Broncos didn't choke at the end of the year, going 2-6 in their last eight, then he would have been a prime candidate for this award. Not to mention Sean Payton and Jim Caldwell did phenomenal jobs with the Colts and Saints, considering they meet in the Super Bowl. Congrats Lewis, the Bengals had an impressive year even through all of the tragedy.
NFL Super Bowl MVP: Drew Brees - NO If you even watched the Super Bowl you would know that the only other player that could be considered for the award is Tracy Porter because he had what ended up being the game-clinching pick-6. However, Brees was responsible for giving the Saints the lead at that point and was sensational for the entire game. He also tied the record for most completions in the Super Bowl with 32. (Super Bowl XXXVIII)
The second to last week of the season proved to be important as two teams now control their destiny with a win and in scenario.
NFL Week Sixteen
"The Down"
This was kind of tough because there were a couple of bad performances, but I chose Curtis Painter because all he had to do was nothing and he did less than that. He did negative with his interception, incomplete passes and fumble that was returned for a touchdown. The Colts lost their undefeated season and gave the Jets playoff hopes.
Honorable Mentions:
QB Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) – 19 of 37 for 198 yards 1 TD and 4 INTs QB Charlie Frye (OAK) – 26 of 45 for 333 yards and 3 INTs QB Keith Null (STL) – 20 of 31 for 171 yards 1 TD and 3 INTs QB Drew Stanton (DET) – 11 of 21 for 130 yards and 3 INTs
"The Dirty"
Unfortunately, the player with the sickest game plays for a team with nothing to play for this season. Jonathan Stewart of the Carolina Panthers racked up 206 yards on 28 carries and one touchdown. Stewart torched a Giants team that was in a must-win situation to have a shot at the playoffs. So all Carolina did was embarrass to G-men and play spoiler with them. Both teams will be looking to next year in week 17.
Honorable Mentions:
WR Roddy White (ATL) – 8 for 139 yards and 2 TDs WR Randy Moss (NE) – 4 for 45 yards and 3 TDs WR Devin Aromashodu (CHI) – 7 for 150 yards and 1 TD RB Chris Johnson (TEN) – 18 for 166 yards and 2 TDs
If anyone thinks I missed a player that deserves to be recognized on either list please let me know.
My sincerest apologies for this delayed post.However, it is going to published before the start of the Thursday game coming up: Miami @ Carolina
NFL Week Ten
“The Down”
Most football fans saw something this past Thursday night that we might not see ever again.Jay Cutler threw five interceptions. You might be asking why this is special? The reason it is special is because his five interceptions made it three consecutive weeks that a quarterback has thrown five picks. He did throw for just over 300 yards and the Bears actually did have an opportunity to win the game at the end. But, what do you know, that was when Cutler threw his fifth, final and game-ending interception.
Honorable Mentions:
QB Brady Quinn (CLE) – 13 of 31 for 99 yards and 2 INTs
This week’s “The Dirty” might be a little controversial if you look at the honorable mentions; however, it seems to me that the situation was enough to help the stats. Reggie Wayne had 10 receptions for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. The reason he is the winner ahead of Moss is because Wayne’s second touchdown came with thirteen seconds left in the game.He dove to make the catch and there was a ton of contact between him and the defensive back.The game winning touchdown combined with stellar enough stats was enough for propel Wayne ahead of the players you see below.
Honorable Mentions:
RB Chris Johnson (TEN) – 26 for 132 yards and 2 TDs
QB Kurt Warner (ARI) – 29 of 38 for 340 yards and 2 TDs
After every week in the NFL I will be doing a new segment called "The Down and The Dirty". It will consist of two players that have surprised the NFL that week. One player will be recognized for their poor performance, "The Down", and the other for their impressive performance, "The Dirty". Unfortunately, we will be starting this segment a bit late and our first week will be Week Eight of the NFL season.
NFL Week Eight
The Down
This award was a bit tougher to hand out due to the fact that so many players deserved to be in the discussion. However, looking at the big picture, Kurt Warner easily had the most shameful week.Even though he might not have been as absolutely atrocious as Derek Anderson, Kurt Warner is on the Arizona Cardinals.Warner threw for 27 of 46 for 242 and 2 TDs. Oh, forgot to mention his five (5) interceptions. Kurt Warner, the quarterback for the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals threw five picks.The main reason he won the award is because much better is expected of him, and five interceptions for anyone is unacceptable.
Honorable Mentions:
QB Derek Anderson (CLE) – 6 of 17 for 76 yards and 2 INTs
QB David Garrard (JAX) – 14 of 27 for 139 yards and 2 INTs
RB Ronnie Brown (MIA) – 11 for 27 yards
RB Mike Bell (NO) – 17 for 49 yards 1 FUM
The Dirty
.
Maurice Jones-Drew, hands down, wins this week’s “The Dirty” award due to his 177 yards on only eight (8) carries.Yes, that’s right MJD averaged 22.1 yards-per-carry; an absolutely astonishing number.Not to mention, he had two touchdowns to go along with it.Some people might disagree with MJD receiving this award compared to Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans, however, Johnson had more opportunities (24 attempts) so it is a safe assumption that if MJD had more tries he would have easily broken Johnson’s 228 yards.
Honorable Mentions:
RB Chris Johnson (TEN) – 24 for 228 yards and 2 TDs
RB Ryan Moats (HOU) – 23 for 126 yards and 3 TDs
QB Brett Favre (MIN) – 17 of 28 for 244 yards and 4 TDs
