Blog Posts For Tag: Giants

The seventh Sunday of the NFL schedule brought about a bevy of blowouts. Only two games were decided by less than 10 points or less. Four games were decided by a deficit between 10 and 19. An incredible six games were won by more than 20 points. The most lopsided loss was the 38-0 win by the New York Jets over the Oakland Raiders. That game is one of four decided by 30 points or more.

The NFL training camps are underway, so everyone whose baseball team has sunk to the bottom of the division or everyone whose baseball team is obviously on its last leg has a chance to obsess about a new team and dream up scenarios where they might actually put together a Super Bowl season (hey, the Cardinals did it last season so why can’t a club like the Raiders, right?).

Well, not so fast there St. Louis Ram’s diehard and Mr. Kansas City Chief. I do not care what you read about Marc Bulger returning to form or if Tom Cassel still has the scent of the New England Patriots. Read on and see which teams have a shot and which teams should pay more attention to their fantasy football teams, beginning with the NFC in this edition.

It is not but a week into NFL Free Agency time and there are already completed deals that are causing havoc in every football-obsessed sports fans life. They range from questionable signings to questionable trades and are boring our girlfriends who thought it was safe to take us out in public.

Manny Ramirez needs a reality check. He is going to be 37 years old this next season. The economy is killing everyone, including professional sports team. He is going to be 37 years old. He is simply not going to get a four-year deal for $100 million. He is going to be 37 years old. I do not know what Scott Boras is telling him, but not even the big-spending New York Yankees are going to make that kind of an offer.

When I was a kid I used to wake each morning in the summer, take out the sports section, and devour the box scores. I would read each game carefully, noting who was hot and who had gone cold. I delighted in imagining the pitching duels and cringed at the visions of a reliever coming in and getting lit up, ruining a stupendous seven-inning outing by the starter. I also noticed that certain position players did certain things. The corner infielders hit for power, the outfielders hit home runs or stole bases, the catchers struck out, and the middle infielders hit .260 with about five home runs a year. Then came Jeff Kent, and suddenly a second baseman could hit 20 home runs a year.

The NFL tickets for the Divisional Playoffs have been set for a week and Las Vegas has set line for the games. The experts have weighed in and it looks like a clear sweep by the higher seeds. This does not make for much exciting football, but thankfully for all the odds that are set and all the games that are analyzed (and overanalyzed) there are still upsets every year. Anybody remember the Giants last season?

The momentum and the history were on the Atlanta Falcons side before the first game of the playoffs started. The Falcons had won five of their last six and the Cardinals had not won a playoff game since 1947. I thought the only way the Falcons could lose this game was if Matt Ryan had a rookie meltdown. Well the Arizona Cardinals beat Falcons 30-24, Ryan had a game full of mistakes, and Arizona dominated the line on both side of the ball.

So it is New Years Eve and many blogs and sports shows will run programs celebrating the best of 2008. They will flash back to the New York Giants stunning the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. They will flash to the Phillies giving Philadelphia something to root for in Philadelphia. They will gush over the Boston Celtics victory and the NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers. They might do something about the NHL, but so few fans know anything about the sport that the names on the back of the jerseys would be meaningless.

The buzz for the next few weeks is going to be about the NFL Postseason. The pre-postseason, also known as the regular season, is over and the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos can relate. They have maverick quarterbacks (Tony Romo and Jay Cutler), susceptible defenses (Dallas gave up 365 points and Denver gave up 448), both have had problems with healthy running backs, and both played themselves out of the playoffs.

The final slate of NFL games is just an hour away and I am looking at the final three divisions up for grabs. Of these three, two of the postseason chases seem be bathed in pathetic mediocrity. Really, how could the Denver Broncos blow the lead in the AFC West? How could the Vikings fail to close out the NFC North when they have Adrian Peterson on their team?

I think the theme for this past weekend in the NFL was momentum. Teams with playoffs on their minds had a lot to gain and to lose this weekend. Some teams cemented their place at the top and others went along playing their way out of the playoffs. In these final weeks I have continued to be surprised by which teams have ended up as the Super Bowl favorites.

This week kicked off with an impressive win by the Indianapolis Colts. They clinched a playoff spot with a 31-24 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Peyton Manning returned to Manning Classic and completed 29 of 34 attempts for 364 yards and threw three touchdowns. For all the fuss over Marvin Harrison being out it really had no effect on the game. Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Dominic Rhodes did plenty of damage. Rhodes did not do much on the ground, but when Peyton is on it matters much less that the Colts have no running game.

Week 15 has already officially started. It started with the Bears outlasting the Saints in overtime in the battle of whose defense could be less effective down the stretch. Really, the most valuable players in that game had to be the turf for making any break away plays on the outside of the field impossible and the coin toss that kicked off the overtime. Whoever won that flip was going to take the ball down the field. It just so happened that the winner was the Bears. That and a huge pass interference make up call put the Bears in field goal range and ended the game.

The NFL season now has three more weeks with the conclusion of Week 14 and the number of meaningful games with playoff implications is dwindling, though each of those contests intensity is rising exponentially. This is the reality for every American sport and it is both a exciting and a sad time, and looking at some of these scores many cities will have fans suffering through the winter with a case of Post-Season Stress Syndrome.

Tennessee Titans (11-1) 47 – Detroit Lions (0-12) 10

I have one question, why does the NFL keep giving Detroit a spotlight game every year. The Lions have not had a winning record since 2000. Stop being an enabler. I understand that nobody saw the Titans as the best team in the AFC by Week 13, but still to put this marquee time slot in Detroit only proves to me that the NFL is an enabler. The game…well, the Titans ran, predictably, for nearly 300 yards and obviously trampled a city already hurting from the breakdown of the Big Three bailout.

The NFL season is coming into the final few weeks and all the preseason predictions have been left behind. The importance of each game is now related to teams’ immediate record and not the far off games on the schedule.

New York Jet (7-3) 34 – New England (6-4) 31

It was a battle of upstarts with two surprising starters in a game for the AFC East lead. Matt Cassel thought he would be sitting behind a legend in the making, but instead through for 400 yards in a losing effort for the resilient Patriots. Brett Favre was supposed to be a retired legend, but instead came back and found a home in New York. He threw fro 258 yards and two touchdowns and helped lead the Jets to victory, while Jay Feely’s 34 yard field goal won the game in overtime.

Denver Broncos 34- Cleveland Browns 30

This game proved once again that not only is the Broncos offense a potent machine, but the team’s defense is bent on making every other offense in the league look like it has been born out of genius. I think that every Broncos game should be watched because every weekend it will be a shoot out. It has the kind of allure of the Sacramento Kings a few years ago. You knew they were going to put together an exciting game, but you also knew they were destined to be stopped well short of the championship. On another note, Cutler’s performance helped my little brother get a much needed win in our fantasy league.

Atlanta Falcons 34- New Orleans Saints 20

Drew Brees reached his weekly quota for yards with 422 and picks with three in a game that helped keep the Falcons in the playoff hunt in the NFC South. I would have thought that Michael Turner would have had 150 yards and three touchdowns in this game, but he managed a very respectable 96 yards as Matt Ryan proved that a pocket quarterback can work in Atlanta as he threw for 10.8 yards an attempt and two touchdowns.

Tennessee Titans 21- Chicago Bears 14

The Bears allowed less than one yard a rushing attempt and stopped most of the long passes (until the end of the game), but forgot that Kerry Collins can pick up 284 yards nickel and diming you with tight end Bo Scaife. The Bears looked like they were on their way to another quarterback controversy as Rex Grossman started to lead the team back from 14 down in the fourth quarter, but he quickly ended the hopes of defeating the last undefeated team with an awful pass as the two minute warning was approaching. At the very least, Bears fans can be thankful that Orton will be welcomed back without any doubt whether it is the right decision.

Jacksonville Jaguars 38- Detroit Lions 14

A strong running game by Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew (who had three touchdowns) dominated this game. David Garrard performed like a true professional with a 119.1 quarterback rating to top off the Jaguars efforts to avoid losing to a winless team for the second week in a row. The Lions hoped that the newly signed Dante Culpepper would have an immediate impact, but he could do little to stop the bleeding as he went from coaching a Pop Warner football team to playing for one.

Miami Dolphins 21 – Seattle Seahawks 19

When a team like the Dolphins beats all odds and comes into week 10 with a 4-4 record after every expert picks them to win less than four games overall, something has to give. The Dolphins have won with an unconventional offense meant to hide their obvious flaws, but an offense based on trick plays means that any team can beat you, including the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks made the game a close on, but their futility was just enough to lose the game to the “Wildcat” and big plays.

Minnesota Vikings 28- Green Bay Packers 27

The game came down to a 52-yard field goal attempt by Packers kicker Mason Crosby. His miss ended the game for the Packers. Adrian Peterson ran for 192 yards and was able to make up for the three interceptions by Gus Frerotte with his lone touchdown on a 29-yard scamper with 2:22 left in the game. Both teams were able to shut down the passing game so it came down to Peterson versus Ryan Grant, and Peterson trumps Grant.

New England Patriots 20- Buffalo Bills 10

In the first half of the season the Bills looked like the team bound to benefit the most from Tom Brady’s injury. Now that the second half has begun, the Patriots have managed to find themselves in a first place tie after beating Buffalo. Matt Cassel has been the unexpected season hero and BenJarvus Green-Ellis was the unexpected hero of this game with 105 yards and a touchdown as the Patriots put together a fine offensive performance and a dominating defensive effort to tie the Jets for the division lead.

New York Jets 47- St. Louis Rams 3

It turns out when you turn the ball over five times in the game and cannot stop the run it is going to be a long game. Jets running back was sensational with 149 yards and three touchdowns. Brett Favre only had 19 passing attempts and only threw for 167 yards as excellent field position and a terrific ground game that totaled 206 yards made the game a blowout quickly. The Rams looked awful. The line made this a long day for Trent Green and Marc Bulger, who both had time behind the center. The Rams only have to endure seven more games until this unfortunate season is over and the hurting can stop.

Baltimore Ravens 41-Houston Texans 13

Joe Flacco was never really expect to do more than “manage” games this season, but the rookie has continued to prove that his big arm can lea a potent offense. This Sunday he only threw for 185 yards, but had two touchdowns, including a 43-yard bomb to Yamon Figurs. Willis McGahee had a strong game as well, running for 112 yards and two touchdowns. The balanced offense and a defense that picked off the Raven’s Sage Rosenfels four times made this game a laugher quickly.

Carolina Panthers 17-Oakland Raiders 6

The Raiders are bad. Jake Delhomme threw nearly as many picks (4) as completions (7) on 27 attempts and only managed 72 yards, but the Raiders could still not make this game look even close. Running back Deangelo Williams had 140 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers ad that was plenty to embarrass a pitiful Raiders team. Justin Fargas had a pretty good game with 89 yards, but the rest of the offense looked awful. Andrew Walter was the latest quarterback to commit career suicide be taking snaps for Al Davis and will surely not be the last this season.

No video, just audio, but a funny truth from Gabriel Iglesias my favorite pluis-sized comedian

Indianapolis Colts 24- Pittsburgh Steelers 20

Ben Roethlisberger took the field again with his injured shoulder and threw three interceptions. At the age of 26 he is looking like an aging fighter taking too many hits and throwing desperation punches. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning is looking like the graceful veteran reminding everyone of his greatness. He threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns. It took 40 attempts to complete 21 passes, but the master technician is keeping the Colts within striking distance of the postseason. The Steelers may be in the lead in their division, but they need to do some work to keep that lead and be more than first round fodder in the playoffs.

San Diego Chargers 20- Kansas City Chiefs 19

The Chargers used to be the team nobody paid attention to because the played in Southern California. Now they are the team nobody cares about because they can barely beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Philip Rivers was good (316 yards, 2 touchdowns) and bad (2 picks) in this “effort”. LaDainian Tomlinson continued his tough season as the Chiefs focused on him to hold him to 78 yards on 22 carries. Tyler Thigpen put together another nice effort for the Chiefs with 266 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Still, the Chiefs could not win in a season that was never anything more than a rebuilding year.

New York Giants 36- Philadelphia Eagles 31

The Giants have proven that despite their easy first half schedule they are the truly the best team in the NFC East. The Eagles had won three straight and were hoping to begin the journey from last place to first with a win in New York, but could not get Brian Westbrook going (thanks to the Giants game plan). Westbrook, the focus of the Eagles offense, was held to 26 rushing yard and 33 passing yards. Donovan McNabb threw three touchdowns, but when the game came down to the final minutes, he could not rally his receivers for a win. Eli Manning was good with 2 touchdown passes and Brandon Jacobs was great with 126 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants won this game far more easily than the scoreboard reflects and answered any doubts as to the legitimacy of their record.

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The Giants or the Eagles? That is the question. The NFC East teams match up for the first of two second half schedule games. Is Philly really the team to challenge the Giants after New York survived a schedule that I’m pretty sure had a couple Division III college teams on it. Did the Phillies win end all of the city’s cursed sports teams struggles or was the victory limited to baseball. Without question, this is the game the fans and the NFL want to see.

The Buffalo Bills-New England Patriots game deserves some mention, as both teams are playing well above expectations, making the playoff hunt in the AFC East (one of the most underrated divisions this season) interesting.

The Indianapolis Colts-Pittsburgh Steelers game looks interesting because Ben Roethlisberger’s status is uncertain (as of right now). Could this be the game the league’s toughest quarterback finally goes down for good (this season). Big Ben has become one of my favorite players because of that fact. You can injure his throwing shoulder, his planting foot, and poke out one of his eyes and he would still drag himself onto the field and engineer at least one scoring drive.

The throw away game of the week appears to be the Chiefs versus the Chargers. The Chargers have been underwhelming this season at 3-5 and the Chiefs have been almost unbearable to watch at 1-7. Tyler Thigpen has been magic for the last two weeks, but, even with the worst pass defense in the NFL, I do not see Kansas City putting up big numbers.

Meanwhile I think the Arizona Cardinals might break 50 points on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers. I think the only shot the 49ers have to make this game interesting is if Head Coach Mike Singletary suits up and stars down Kurt Warner.

Singletary getting angry on NFL.com…

Singletary Smash (thanks to YouTube)…

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New York Jets 26- Buffalo Bills 17

Bills quarterback Trent Edwards nearly threw for 300 yards, but those numbers are misleading because the only the Bills could move the ball was through the air. His fumble and pick did little to help the Bills create some sort of separation in the AFC East. The Jets relied on their defense for this win and entered into a three way tie for first place with the Bills and the Patriots.

Chicago Bears 27 – Detroit Lions 23

The Bears expected to walk away from this one with a laugher, but instead squeaked out a win with Rex Grossman coming in for the injured Kyle Orton. Let the annual Chicago quarterback controversy begin. The Lions put together a solid first half with a sudden hint of chemistry between a Lions quarterback this season and Calvin Johnson. This game was a scare for Chicago and Detroit walked away with a moral victory knowing it had started the annual question at quarterback.

Cincinnati Bengals 21 – Jacksonville Jaguars 19

The Bengals ended their misery this season with a victory and the graduation from just sad to still very sad, but approaching mediocre. The Jaguars could not take advantage of the porous run defense with their dual back attack and suffered the biggest embarrassment of the weekend. To add insult, Cedric Benson rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars defense.

Baltimore Ravens 37 – Cleveland Browns 27

In what I though would be an ugly game, the Ravens stayed with in striking distance of first place in the AFC North and the Browns recent run at recovery was cut short. Joe Flacco had his weekly highlight with a 47 touchdown pass to Mark Clayton and Derek Anderson did his best to justify the first year of his new contract. In the end the Ravens defense ended the game with a 42 yard touchdown return by Terrell Suggs.

Tennessee Titans 19 – Green Bay Packers 16 (OT)

The Titans moved to 8-0 after a hard fought victory by a Packers team trying to keep pace with the Bears. The Packers were able to move the ball against the vaunted Titans defense, but were not able to score more than one touchdown. The Titans continued to surprise with a 41 yard field goal in overtime by Rob Bironas to end the game and keep the streak alive.

Tampa Bay Bucs 30 – Kansas City Chiefs 27 (OT)

Yes, the Chiefs defense is awful. The worst in the NFL, but they have been able to breakout with Tyler Thigpen at quarterback to make the games more than just a joke. In fact, this week they nearly beat the Bucs. The Bucs are a good team that everyone expected to come out and simply handle Kansas City. Instead they had to tie the game on a quick touchdown drive with less than two minutes left in the fourth. In the end Matt Bryant won the game for Tampa with a 34 yard field goal.

Arizona Cardinals 34- St. Louis Rams 13

Few games tend to play out how the experts and the fans expect, but this one did. The Rams could not stop Kurt Warner as he spread the ball to eight receivers threw two touchdowns. The telling sign of the game was the use of Tim Hightower as the main back, signaling the end of Edgerrin James’ attempt to make a comeback in nicer weather.

Minnesota Vikings 29- Houston Texans 21

The Vikings ran over the Texans in a game that was much more a blowout than the score would suggest. The Texans scored two touchdowns in the second half with Sage Rosenfels, who replaced an injured Matt Schaub. Gus Frerotte looked good as the Vikings quarterback with three touchdown passes with just 18 passing attempts.

Miami Dolphins 26–Denver Broncos 17

The Dolphins have surprised everyone this season with a 4-4 record and the Broncos have disappointed everyone with a 4-4 record. The Dolphins were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league, but trick plays and the play of Chad Pennington have kept them afloat and out of the race for worst place. The Broncos were supposed to breakout, but the running game has not been there and Jay Cutler has been the only weapon as his receivers have fought injuries. In this game the Dolphins simply managed the game better.

Atlanta Falcons 24- Oakland Raiders 0

The Falcons scored all their points in the first half and felt little pressure from a Raiders offense that only managed 77 yards. Meanwhile, Michael Turner ran for 139 yards and Matt Ryan passed for two touchdowns. There is nothing really more to say about this scrimmage.

New York Giants 35- Dallas Cowboys 14

The Cowboys woes continue as they dug deep into their depth chart and brought Brooks Bollinger out to start the second half. The Giants rolled with a running game to minimize turnovers. Eli Manning had his bit of magic with three touchdowns despite only connecting on 16 of 27 passes for 147 yards. He still fumbled the ball twice and threw a pick, but the toothless Dallas offense could not turn his miscues into scores.

Philadelphia Eagles 26- Seattle Seahawks 7

The Eagles won the game. They were supposed to do that, but they won despite a less than stellar performance from Brian Westbrook. Westbrook fought for respectability in the second half to finish with 20 carries for 61 yards and 6 receptions for 35 yards. Instead, Donovan McNabb spread the ball to 10 receivers for 349 yards. The Seahawks were playing catch up for the most of the game, but did open up the contest with a 90 yard bomb from Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson.

Indianapolis Colts 18- New England Patriots 15

Last season this game would have been touted for the potential to break the 100 point total scoring mark. This season the Colts managed to find a little offense while Patriots kicker Stephen Gostowski worked out his leg. The game was exciting though. The Colts broke the 15-15 tie with 8:05 left it he fourth quarter before the defenses took over, or the offenses sputtered (depends on how you look at it).

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This next week in the NFL the big game, without question, is the New York Giants versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. The match up will pit Eli Manning versus Ben Roethlisberger, The Giants D versus the Steelers D, and plenty of other storylines that will be played to death on the Sunday pre-game shows. It is early, but these are the two early favorites as the league and the sports nation finds it hard to swallow the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills.

A couple of the other games look interesting. The Arizona Cardinals are playing the Carolina Panthers in what I think could be the most under-rated game of the week. The Cardinals continue to be ignored by most of the nation and this game will not help (Carolina is far from the media capital of the world), but true football fans get to see two of the more pleasant surprises in action, trying to prove that the other is a farce. The game for last place is always interesting because it has the potential to turn into a circus quickly. This week that game is between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. The teams are awful. The 49ers play no defense and the Seahawks barely play football. I am thinking an interception happy game as both quarterbacks try and air it out in this meaningless affair.

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And Now the Future Head Coach of the 49ers showing off his qualifications.