The New York Yankees have had their rivals throughout the years. You’d have to have a lot of teams that hate you when you consistently win year after year. Whether it was the Mariners, the Indians, the Rangers, the Braves, the A’s, or of course, the Red Sox; the Yankees have had heated games against all of them, including in the postseason. In the end, the Yankees won their fair share, earning the respect of all of the teams; not so much their fans. With all of those power houses that gave the Yankees a hard time, who do they have the most trouble with? How about none of them. Going back ten years, the Yankees have a record above .500 against all of the mentioned teams and have beaten them in the playoffs at least once. The Yankees are unbeatable right? Wrong. Who is this almighty team that has crushed the Yankees for the past ten years? The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. That’s right, the same team that has only made the playoffs six times and has won only one championship in their franchise history.
It might come as a shock to some that the Angels have constantly harassed the Yankees over time, however, consider the numbers. Here are the series standings involving the Yankees and Angels from the past ten years.
2007: 6-3, Angels
2006: 6-4, Angels
2005: 6-4, Angels
2004: 5-4, Angels
2003: 6-3, Yankees
2002: 4-3, Yankees
2001: 4-3, Angels
2000: 5-5, Tie
1999: 6-4, Angels
1998: 6-5, Angels
The most important statistic that’s not including in those numbers? The playoffs… The Yankees have never beaten the Angels in the postseason. The two times the teams faced off, in 2002 the Angels defeated the Yankees 3-1 in the ALDS and in 2005 the Angels again defeated the Yankees 3-2 in the ALDS. Including those numbers, in the past ten years, the Yankees have had only one winning season against the Angels, ONE!
Here’s another mind blowing statistic. In 1998, the New York Yankees finished the season with the most wins in franchise history, 114. That year, the Yankees played .500 baseball or better against every single team that year, except one. You guessed it; that team was none other than the Angels.
Fast-forwarding to today, since that’s what really matters most, the Yankees just finished their final regular season series of the year against the Angels and once again, lost the series. The Yankees have been on a hot streak since the All-Star break; they were 27-11, having lost just two series out of eleven (both to Baltimore). They were gaining serious ground in the AL East and Wild Card race, which they needed really badly after an embarrassing first half. Then came the Angels… Going into the series, the Yankees were confident as they defeated the Angels right before the All-Star break 2-1 (Earlier, in the first series of the season, the Angels swept the Yankees 3-0). With a series victory here, they could have had their first season series victory over Anaheim since 2003. It didn’t turn out that way as the Yankees went on to lose the first game 6-7 in the 10th inning. The second game was only more embarrassing; the Yankees were rocked 18-9. At this point, the Yankees lost two games on the AL East lead (6 games back) and two games on the Wild Card lead (2.5 games back). They did manage to bounce back in game 3 to avoid the sweep 8-2. The series loss was the forth straight season series loss to the Angels.
The problem the Yankees face doesn’t seem to be that big because the Yankees and Angels aren’t in the same division, but fans should now be paying attention to these showdowns more than ever. Both teams have recently made the playoffs numerous times and by looking at their rosters, they can stay in playoff contention for a very long time. It will only take a few more defeats for people to start taking notice that the bad guy, self-embraced Evil Empire, has been beaten pretty badly by the good guy, Halos of the Heavens.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Useless NFL Predictions Surely Changing Mid-Season: NFC
It’s that time of year; the NFL Preseason is well underway and everyone starts making their predictions about who will be this year’s champions, surprises, and disappointments. Of course, 98% of these predictions end up totally wrong and change mid-season after progress is shown and injuries take place. I’m no different; and with that point, I present my NFC predictions surely to change mid-season.
NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys: 10-6, 4-2
Key Wins: @Chicago, @Philadelphia
Key Losses: St. Louis, New England, Washington
Philadelphia Eagles: 10-6, 3-3
Key Wins: Seattle, @Dallas, @New Orleans
Key Losses: Washington, @New York/N
Washington Redskins: 8-8, 3-3
Key Wins: @Philadelphia, @Dallas, Chicago
Key Losses: @Green Bay, @Tampa Bay, Buffalo
New York Giants: 6-10, 2-4
Key Wins: Green Bay, Philadelphia
Key Losses: New York/A, San Francisco, Minnesota
The NFC East should see a significant shake up this year. There are a significant amount of roster changes that will affect how each team will play. With the Cowboys, QB Tony Romo and head coach Wade Phillips took over the team; the Eagles, RB Brian Westbrook will reshape the entire Eagles offense; the Redskins, the era of QB Jason Campbell reigns; the Giants, the absence of RB, and once team leader, Tiki Barber will change the entire atmosphere of the team.
The battle to concentrate on in this division is between the bitter rivals of Dallas and Philadelphia. Both are very strong well rounded teams that have similar schedules. Each team will take one victory from another and lose stupid games that will keep the race going until the very last week. Of course this is all assuming QB Donovan McNabb stays healthy.
I really like the Redskins’ defense despite their embarrassing 31st ranking. I think the defense will bounce back in a big way keeping the Redskins in the race for a good portion of the season. Jason Campbell will mature but play just good enough to not lose games for the team. As far as the Giants go, I think this is no doubt head coach Tom Coughlin’s last year. After a projected 4-2 start, the Giants will tire under Coughlin’s military-style practices and lose 8 of the 10 remaining games.
NFC North:
Chicago Bears: 9-7, 5-1
Key Wins: Kansas City, @Philadelphia
Key Losses: @Seattle, @Washington, @Minnesota
Minnesota Vikings: 6-10, 3-3
Key Wins: @Green Bay, @San Francisco, Chicago
Key Losses: @Detroit, Green Bay, Washington
Green Bay Packers: 6-10, 3-3
Key Wins: @Kansas City, Detroit
Key Losses: Minnesota, @Chicago
Detroit Lions: 5-11, 1-5
Key Wins: Denver, @San Diego, Kansas City
Key Losses: Chicago, Tampa Bay, @Arizona
This year the Chicago Bears should endlessly be thanking the Seattle Seahawks for breaking the trend of playoff absences following a Super Bowl loss. The Bears will win the division due to playing in the weakest division in football, however they will finish with a very mediocre record.
Despite it being the weakest division, I do like the rest of the teams as far as their futures go. I love the Vikings defense (8th ranked overall) as well as their running-back tandem of Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson. Although I do have the Vikings losing their first 8 games to become the laughing stock of the league before QB Tarvaris Jackson becomes comfortable leading the game in his first year starting in the NFL. I think he will learn a lot about football this year and we will learn a lot about him and his future with the Vikings.
With the Packers, I like their defense as well which seems to be improving year after year. Also, QB Aaron Rodgers has been sitting on the bench observing the game for 3 years. After Favre retires this season due to a bad year, I think Rodgers will shine. As far as the Lions are concerned, their entire offense is great with the exception of a quarterback; they have a great running-back tandem of Kevin Jones and Tatum Bell as well as an excellent receiving core. I believe they really need to consider drafting a quarterback as their final piece in order to turn their franchise around. I see Brian Brohm as their future, but who knows with Matt Millen running the show.
NFC South:
New Orleans Saints: 11-5, 5-1
Key Wins: Carolina, @Seattle, @Chicago
Key Losses: @Indianapolis, St. Louis
Carolina Panthers: 10-6, 4-2
Key Wins: @Arizona, New Orleans, @Jacksonville
Key Losses: Houston, Tampa Bay, @New Orleans
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-9, 2-4
Key Wins: St. Louis, @Carolina
Key Losses: Arizona, Atlanta
Atlanta Falcons: 5-11, 1-5
Key Wins: @Minnesota, San Francisco
Key Losses: @Tennessee, New York/N
The Saints were incredible last year. With many inexperienced players and an inexperience coach, they managed to reach the NFC Conference Championship game losing to the Chicago Bears. On the offensive side of the ball, there is no visible weakness present. On the defensive side of the ball, they’ve been great as well contrary to popular belief. They were ranked 11th in total defense and 3rd in passing defense. Their running defense needs to improve, but with off-season additions to beef up the depth of the box, they should do well too.
The thing working against the Saints is a tough schedule and the emergence of the Carolina Panthers. The Saints must face Indianapolis, Carolina, Seattle, San Francisco, Jacksonville, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The thing is, the Panthers have an equally tough schedule against similar opponents. With the Panthers, the season will start terrible. They will lose 4 of their first 5 games, provoking head coach Rick Fox to make the change at quarterback. David Carr will lead the team to win 8 of their last 9 games, making the playoffs.
Tampa Bay and Atlanta will not play much of a factor as both teams have question marks all over the team. Everyone knows the deal with Atlanta, but with Tampa Bay, the defense is consistently getting worse every year with no significant improvements, and the quarterback situation is up in the air. While I like Jeff Garcia in head coach Jon Gruden’s system, if mistakes are made, the trigger will be pulled to get a new guy in. This means constant pressure to perform well by Garcia. On top of all that, RB Carnell “Ford” Williams, was a disappointment last year. Whether he will bounce back is one of the many questions regarding the Buccaneers.
NFC West:
St. Louis Rams: 9-7, 3-3
Key Wins: @Dallas, @New Orleans, @San Francisco, Seattle
Key Losses: @Tampa Bay, Arizona, @Cincinnati
San Francisco 49ers: 8-8, 4-2
Key Wins: @St. Louis, @Pittsburgh, Seattle, @Seattle
Key Losses: Arizona, @Atlanta, St. Louis
Seattle Seahawks: 8-8, 2-4
Key Wins: Chicago, @Carolina
Key Losses: @San Francisco, San Francisco, Arizona, Baltimore
Arizona Cardinals: 6-10, 3-3
Key Wins: @San Francisco, @Cincinnati, @Seattle
Key Losses: @Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta
Welcome to the toughest division in the NFL. The NFC West is going to be another gigantic battle just like last season. This time, the results will come out different. I really like the Rams this year and let me begin by saying why before I say why the Seahawks won’t win. The Rams have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Marc Bulger is a highly underrated QB that is perhaps one of the most if not THE most accurate QB in the NFL. Here are some stats: 7th in the league in QB rating, 4th in TD passes, 4th in least interceptions thrown (The three guys ahead of him didn’t play full seasons [Brunell, McNabb, & Huard]), and 3rd in passing yards. No wonder he got a huge $65 million contract. That, coupled with one of the best receiving tandems in the league as well as one of the best running-backs in the league makes this offense almost unstoppable. The reason why they don’t runaway with the division is mainly due to their 23rd ranked defense and one of the tougher schedules in the NFL playing against the Panthers, 49ers, Cowboys, Ravens, Seahawks, Saints, Bengals, and Steelers.
Now for the reasons that the Seahawks will not win the division. QB Matt Hasselbeck is one of the more overrated quarterbacks in the league. At 30 years old, he finished 2006 with a disappointing 76 QB Rating, 19th in the league. He’s now one year older, one year slower, and one year less aware of what’s going on around him. You really think he’s going to do a good job surveying the field with 4 potential WR’s to throw to? Didn’t work too well for him last year: 8th most INT’s thrown, 15, while missing 4 games. RB Shaun Alexander is also 31 this year, and is on the decline of his 2005 peak year. Because he was injured thanks to the Madden Jinx, and was out for 6 games, doesn’t make it fair to judge him on his yards and TD totals (896 yards, 7 TD’s). What is fair, is judging him on his average yards per carry, a horrific 3.6 average, 41st in the NFL, more importantly, LAST! He can’t be that bad this year, but you can count on him not being good enough to lead the team to the NFC West title. Here’s a bonus reason: 19th defensively, but more importantly 22nd in rushing yards allowed. Steven Jackson, Frank Gore, and James/Arrington tandem anyone?
As for the 49ers and the Cardinals, these are two teams that I really like this year due to great offenses. For the 49ers, Alex Smith has significantly gotten better (2005: 40.8 QB Rating, 1-11 TD-INT ratio; 2006: 74.8 QB Rating, 1-1 TD-INT ratio). Also Frank Gore is going to be huge in that division partially due to the division’s horrible rushing defense. I don’t like the move of picking up Nate Clements in the off-season. I think he’s overrated and a flashy CB that tries to grab the interception rather than knocking the ball down when the game is on the line which ultimately results in him tipping the ball into the opposing receiver’s hands (see Buffalo-Jacksonville game in 2006). With the Cardinals, I also love Matt Leinart and the best WR tandem in the league with Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Also, don’t sleep on RB J.J. Arrington; with Edgerrin James suffering year after year, look for Arrington to shine against the rushing defenses of the AFC West.
Stayed tuned next week for the more ballsy-er and controversial AFC predictions, as well as Super Bowl predictions.
Sports Moment of the Week
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb extended his scoreless inning streaks on Friday to 42 inning pitching without an earned run against the Atlanta Braves. Friday was also Webb's third consecutive complete game pitched.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Now or Never for the Eagles?
The following article is a spinoff from the article, Questions Regarding the Top 10 NFL Stories. This article is a solely concentrated on the Philadelphia Eagles as it is set to appear in my Philadelphia-based school's newspaper.
The Philadelphia Eagles, one year removed from the Terrell Owens debacle, went into the season with expectations to bounce back. The Eagles got off to a hot start with a 4-1 record. Things took a turn for the worst when they went 1-3 the next four games, topped by a freakish injury to Donovan McNabb during a week 11 game against the Tennessee Titans. Just when all hope was lost, backup quarterback Jeff Garcia stepped up and led the team to a 10-6 record winning the NFC East. With Garcia gone and clean slate for the 2007 Philadelphia Eagles, will this season be one for the ages? Let’s take a look at the top five questions concerning the midnight green and silver this season.
5. Will the defense show a significant improvement from the past two seasons?
The 2006 Eagles defense was ranked 15th in the league. While not bad, the defense could certainly use improvement from last year. In order to improve this, the Eagles made a few off-season moves, most notably acquiring LB Takeo Spikes from Buffalo. Spikes, coming off Achilles heel injury two years ago and a quad injury last year, is a question mark just as the rest of the line-backing corps. LB Jeremiah Trotter, age 30, is now practically playing without cartilage in his knees, and strong-side linebacker, Chris Gocong, is an inexperienced young defensive tackle turned linebacker.
With a 4-3 defense that loves to blitz, the bigger issue the Eagles have is the defensive line. The team was ranked 26th in rushing yards allowed last season. The ACL injury that kept DE Jevon Kearse out for most of the season, is a definitely a contributing factor, however the rest of the guys, namely fellow DE Darren Howard and the departed DT Darwin Walker, failed to step up as well. This year, the Eagles are counting on sophomore DT Brodrick Bunkley to help bring pressure on opposing quarterbacks and running-backs. Bunkley was the Eagles’ first round draft pick last year, but due to a camp hold-out, Bunkley never became comfortable with the Eagles’ system. With a year of experience on the field and at training camp, look for Bunkley to become an important part of the Eagles’ defense this season.
Another issue with the defense is depth in the secondary. In the off-season, the Eagles lost SS Michael Lewis and CB Roderick Hood to free agency. Sean Considine will take Lewis’ spot this season and has shown that he can play the position well. FS Brian Dawkins is the heart of the Eagles defense but is aging at 33 years old. Should his current Achilles heel injury prove to be a problem, the only guy to back him up is 5th round pick, C.J. Gaddis out of Clemson. As far as the cornerbacks go, after Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, there isn’t much depth. CB William James has shown that he maybe able to start this season, but he is not quick enough to keep up with better receivers.
4. Can McNabb stay consistent this season?
After suffering two injuries the past two seasons, QB Donovan McNabb has become unreliable. So much so that it provoked the Eagles organization to draft quarterback Kevin Kolb with their first pick this past draft. McNabb is no doubt the face of the franchise and the Eagles will need him to stay healthy if they want to compete for the championship this season.
Not only does McNabb have to stay healthy, but he must also be more consistent. In the first five games last season, McNabb threw 11 touchdown passes while throwing only one interception posting a quarterback rating of 107.78. In the next five games, McNabb threw 7 touchdown passes while throwing five interceptions posting a quarterback rating of 76.32. McNabb cannot be this inconsistent if he wants to bring a championship to Philadelphia. At times McNabb can be considered one of the best quarterbacks in the league; at other times he looks like a backup trying to become familiar with the system.
3. Who is the #1 option at receiver?
One of the biggest losses for the Eagles in the off-season was #1 option WR Donte’ Stallworth. With Stallworth gone, McNabb will have to find a new #1 option. WR Todd Pinkston, who was a key part of the team when the Eagles made the NFC Championship game three years in a row, is now with the Washington Redskins. Many have big hopes for third-year WR Reggie Brown. He has shown great improvement over the past couple of years; last season he led the team with 816 receiving yards and 8 touchdown catches. He will most likely be the favorite target however, do not count out sleeper WR Hank Baskett. Now in his sophomore year, Baskett did not put up big numbers last season, (464 yards, 2 touchdowns) but he has made some incredible plays at times and was a big part of the reason why the Eagles won games last season against the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons.
TE L.J. Smith was also a favorite to help McNabb out this season but due to multiple injuries, including the most recent aggravated sports hernia he suffered during camp, in which he had surgery for earlier in the off-season, he will not likely be available for most of the season. With his timetable unknown, backups Matt Schoebel and rookie Brent Celek will have to pick up the slack. A side note to the receiving team, head coach Andy Reid loves to run the screen, so RB Brian Westbrook may get a lot of receiving yards as well.
2. What will be the key contributing factor to the Eagles offense?
Last season, RB Brian Westbrook finally broke 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career due to head coach Andy Reid’s deferral of play calling to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and their willingness to let Westbrook rush the ball far more often than he had in the past (240 attempts in 2006, 156 attempts in 2005). What does this mean to the Eagle’s offense in 2007? Look for Westbrook to play the biggest role in the offense this year, not McNabb.
Westbrook has become a reliable back that can run the ball through holes in the line and around the line, catch the ball, and block. This, along with one of the league’s best offensive lines, will result in Westbrook to post up big numbers this season at the prime of his career. Reid allowing Westbrook to run the ball more often will also help McNabb’s durability as he will not have to take as many hits as in the past. Defenses will also be confused by the improved running game when concentrating their efforts on McNabb.
1. How will the Eagles fare this season?
Perhaps the most important question regarding the Philadelphia Eagles is obvious; how will they do? They have both the schedule and weapons to be great. For the first time in McNabb’s career, the Eagles have a well balanced attack with a great passing game, running game, defense, and most importantly, experience. Key games against the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and New Orleans Saints will show everyone how serious the Eagles are this season.
With McNabb at the age of 31 in November, it is widely accepted that he only has a few years left in him. A Vince Lombardi Trophy for the city is well overdue after failed attempts in late 70’s and early 80’s, late 80’s and early 90’s, and throughout the new decade. One has to wonder whether this season is now or never for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sports Moment of the Week
Barry Bonds hit his 756th career homerun against the Washington Nationals, breaking the most hallowed record in all of sports previously held by Hank Aaron.
The Philadelphia Eagles, one year removed from the Terrell Owens debacle, went into the season with expectations to bounce back. The Eagles got off to a hot start with a 4-1 record. Things took a turn for the worst when they went 1-3 the next four games, topped by a freakish injury to Donovan McNabb during a week 11 game against the Tennessee Titans. Just when all hope was lost, backup quarterback Jeff Garcia stepped up and led the team to a 10-6 record winning the NFC East. With Garcia gone and clean slate for the 2007 Philadelphia Eagles, will this season be one for the ages? Let’s take a look at the top five questions concerning the midnight green and silver this season.
5. Will the defense show a significant improvement from the past two seasons?
The 2006 Eagles defense was ranked 15th in the league. While not bad, the defense could certainly use improvement from last year. In order to improve this, the Eagles made a few off-season moves, most notably acquiring LB Takeo Spikes from Buffalo. Spikes, coming off Achilles heel injury two years ago and a quad injury last year, is a question mark just as the rest of the line-backing corps. LB Jeremiah Trotter, age 30, is now practically playing without cartilage in his knees, and strong-side linebacker, Chris Gocong, is an inexperienced young defensive tackle turned linebacker.
With a 4-3 defense that loves to blitz, the bigger issue the Eagles have is the defensive line. The team was ranked 26th in rushing yards allowed last season. The ACL injury that kept DE Jevon Kearse out for most of the season, is a definitely a contributing factor, however the rest of the guys, namely fellow DE Darren Howard and the departed DT Darwin Walker, failed to step up as well. This year, the Eagles are counting on sophomore DT Brodrick Bunkley to help bring pressure on opposing quarterbacks and running-backs. Bunkley was the Eagles’ first round draft pick last year, but due to a camp hold-out, Bunkley never became comfortable with the Eagles’ system. With a year of experience on the field and at training camp, look for Bunkley to become an important part of the Eagles’ defense this season.
Another issue with the defense is depth in the secondary. In the off-season, the Eagles lost SS Michael Lewis and CB Roderick Hood to free agency. Sean Considine will take Lewis’ spot this season and has shown that he can play the position well. FS Brian Dawkins is the heart of the Eagles defense but is aging at 33 years old. Should his current Achilles heel injury prove to be a problem, the only guy to back him up is 5th round pick, C.J. Gaddis out of Clemson. As far as the cornerbacks go, after Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, there isn’t much depth. CB William James has shown that he maybe able to start this season, but he is not quick enough to keep up with better receivers.
4. Can McNabb stay consistent this season?
After suffering two injuries the past two seasons, QB Donovan McNabb has become unreliable. So much so that it provoked the Eagles organization to draft quarterback Kevin Kolb with their first pick this past draft. McNabb is no doubt the face of the franchise and the Eagles will need him to stay healthy if they want to compete for the championship this season.
Not only does McNabb have to stay healthy, but he must also be more consistent. In the first five games last season, McNabb threw 11 touchdown passes while throwing only one interception posting a quarterback rating of 107.78. In the next five games, McNabb threw 7 touchdown passes while throwing five interceptions posting a quarterback rating of 76.32. McNabb cannot be this inconsistent if he wants to bring a championship to Philadelphia. At times McNabb can be considered one of the best quarterbacks in the league; at other times he looks like a backup trying to become familiar with the system.
3. Who is the #1 option at receiver?
One of the biggest losses for the Eagles in the off-season was #1 option WR Donte’ Stallworth. With Stallworth gone, McNabb will have to find a new #1 option. WR Todd Pinkston, who was a key part of the team when the Eagles made the NFC Championship game three years in a row, is now with the Washington Redskins. Many have big hopes for third-year WR Reggie Brown. He has shown great improvement over the past couple of years; last season he led the team with 816 receiving yards and 8 touchdown catches. He will most likely be the favorite target however, do not count out sleeper WR Hank Baskett. Now in his sophomore year, Baskett did not put up big numbers last season, (464 yards, 2 touchdowns) but he has made some incredible plays at times and was a big part of the reason why the Eagles won games last season against the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons.
TE L.J. Smith was also a favorite to help McNabb out this season but due to multiple injuries, including the most recent aggravated sports hernia he suffered during camp, in which he had surgery for earlier in the off-season, he will not likely be available for most of the season. With his timetable unknown, backups Matt Schoebel and rookie Brent Celek will have to pick up the slack. A side note to the receiving team, head coach Andy Reid loves to run the screen, so RB Brian Westbrook may get a lot of receiving yards as well.
2. What will be the key contributing factor to the Eagles offense?
Last season, RB Brian Westbrook finally broke 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career due to head coach Andy Reid’s deferral of play calling to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and their willingness to let Westbrook rush the ball far more often than he had in the past (240 attempts in 2006, 156 attempts in 2005). What does this mean to the Eagle’s offense in 2007? Look for Westbrook to play the biggest role in the offense this year, not McNabb.
Westbrook has become a reliable back that can run the ball through holes in the line and around the line, catch the ball, and block. This, along with one of the league’s best offensive lines, will result in Westbrook to post up big numbers this season at the prime of his career. Reid allowing Westbrook to run the ball more often will also help McNabb’s durability as he will not have to take as many hits as in the past. Defenses will also be confused by the improved running game when concentrating their efforts on McNabb.
1. How will the Eagles fare this season?
Perhaps the most important question regarding the Philadelphia Eagles is obvious; how will they do? They have both the schedule and weapons to be great. For the first time in McNabb’s career, the Eagles have a well balanced attack with a great passing game, running game, defense, and most importantly, experience. Key games against the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and New Orleans Saints will show everyone how serious the Eagles are this season.
With McNabb at the age of 31 in November, it is widely accepted that he only has a few years left in him. A Vince Lombardi Trophy for the city is well overdue after failed attempts in late 70’s and early 80’s, late 80’s and early 90’s, and throughout the new decade. One has to wonder whether this season is now or never for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sports Moment of the Week
Barry Bonds hit his 756th career homerun against the Washington Nationals, breaking the most hallowed record in all of sports previously held by Hank Aaron.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Who Better to Give Up a Sleazeball the Record, Than Another Sleazeball?
By now, there has been much reaction to Barry Bonds’ record breaking night last night. Some people enjoyed it, some, not so much. This is not a piece on Barry and his record hitting 756th homerun, but rather ‘the other guy’.
His name is Mike Bacsik. This Washington Nationals pitcher has been in the majors for five years now playing for four different teams. With about 30 games started in his entire career in the majors, not much is known about Bacsik. Frankly, no one cared who he was, until last night. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Mike Bacsik gave up the record breaking homerun to Barry Bonds forever writing his name in the history books.
The average person would not want this achievement, especially the average athlete. Most athletes would rather be the one that struck out Bonds on his quest for 756. The thought that someone went out of his way to be that guy, is almost unbelievable and a completely insane thought to think. Not so fast; Bacsik knew what he was doing and he did it on purpose.
Mike Bacsik’s contributions to the historic night were major. He did everything possible to be the guy that allowed Bond’s 756th homerun. Looking at the statistics, Barry Bonds went 3 for 3 last night with no walks. This was the first time during the entire season that Bonds hit 1.000 with no walks. In the second inning on Bonds’ first at-bat, Bacsik threw two consecutive strikes and then three consecutive walks. Everyone knows that hitting the ball on a 3-2 count is a lot easier than other counts because you’re almost certain the pitcher will try and throw into the strike zone so he doesn’t draw the walk. On Bacsik’s 6th pitch to Bonds, Bonds doubled to deep right center field. Mission failed… for now. On Bonds’ second at-bat in the 3rd inning, Bacsik threw the first pitch for a strike and then threw his second pitch in the strike zone again. This time Bonds hit it for a single. Again, mission failed.
With time running out for Bacsik, in the 5th inning, Bacsik made the most of the opportunity. On another 3-2 count allowing Bonds to chase the ball, Bascik threw an 84 mph pitch down the center of the plate for Bonds to smash it into the right field stands. Mission accomplished! An 84 mph pitch on a full count is a very weak pitch that is easy to hit, especially for guys like Bonds. What makes it worse is that during his post-game press conference, Bacsik says that he was trying to throw a fastball down and away for a strike. Really Bacsik? Are you really that bad that you ended up throwing an 84 mph pitch right down the strike zone? He stated “I wanted to go after him; I was trying to get him out. I threw a pitch that he really likes to hit and he did it.” Well if Bonds really likes to hit those pitches, and you know that for a fact, then why are you trying to strike him out with that pitch? Wouldn’t logic dictate that you throw a pitch he doesn’t like?
Bacsik was no doubt very excited for the moment. You’re probably asking yourself why this would make sense and that there is no way he did this intentionally. Well consider these facts. Coming up to the historic moment, there were many discussions and interviews around the league on whether ball players would want to give up the historic homerun. Not surprisingly, everyone said they wouldn’t. Discussions talked about how people would rather want to be the ones that struck Bonds out during his run. Well let me ask everyone this. Do you know even one pitcher that struck out Hank Aaron during his run? Do you even know who the last pitcher that struck out Bonds was? No one knows and your feat will not be recognized if you did.
The guy that gives up the homerun though, is set for life. Now, Mike Bacsik joins the company of Al Downing, the pitcher that gave up the 715th homerun to Hank Aaron, as the people set for life by the moment. It was found out, before Bacsik stepped on the mound, that Downing and Aaron would go to autograph sessions and card shows together to sign memorabilia for fans. Also noted, is that Downing made just as much money for the autograph sessions as Aaron. Bacsik knew that he was just another guy until the end of the 5th inning last night. He was a below average player in the prime of his career with a 4.47 ERA. He is so average that in the beginning of the year, he was in the minors for the Nationals. His baseball career isn’t going anywhere and he knew that. Now that he gave up the famous homerun? His baseball career is extended by 50 years. He and Bonds will go onto do the same thing Aaron and Downing have done during their retirement and get paid very well.
Bacsik didn’t hold his emotions after the game. Although he held his feelings inside on the mound, in the post-game press conference, he was ecstatic. One reporter even pointed out, “You seem genuinely tickled by this whole thing.” Bacsik replied, “Yea I’m excited, we won the game and I got to see history.” He went on to say the following, “You either have to be a really special player to be remembered in this game or be a part of a special moment” and “I didn’t want to give up the homerun but I’m lucky enough to be apart of a very special moment in sports history.” Bacsik knew what he was doing and did everything in his power to make sure he was the one that gave up the homerun. After the celebration, Bacsik then tried to become Bonds’ best friend by congratulating him; he stated that he told Bonds “He’s the best I’ve ever faced and probably the best of all time.” Let’s face it, Bonds is a jerk; unless you make the effort to become his friend, there’s no way he’s doing autograph sessions with you. No autograph sessions, no money…
Barry Bonds would have eventually hit number 756 barring an unlikely injury during the next week or so. However, the fact that a pitcher actually helped him out just so he could make money off of it is disgusting. Bacsik said, “Giving it up to Barry Bonds is nothing to be ashamed of.” Maybe so, but trying to be that pitcher that gives up 756 is something certainly to be ashamed of. Mike Bacsik is a sleezball that doesn’t deserve any profit from his ability to play poorly. He should not be linked to Barry Bonds, but rather as a guy with no integrity and no self respect.
His name is Mike Bacsik. This Washington Nationals pitcher has been in the majors for five years now playing for four different teams. With about 30 games started in his entire career in the majors, not much is known about Bacsik. Frankly, no one cared who he was, until last night. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Mike Bacsik gave up the record breaking homerun to Barry Bonds forever writing his name in the history books.
The average person would not want this achievement, especially the average athlete. Most athletes would rather be the one that struck out Bonds on his quest for 756. The thought that someone went out of his way to be that guy, is almost unbelievable and a completely insane thought to think. Not so fast; Bacsik knew what he was doing and he did it on purpose.
Mike Bacsik’s contributions to the historic night were major. He did everything possible to be the guy that allowed Bond’s 756th homerun. Looking at the statistics, Barry Bonds went 3 for 3 last night with no walks. This was the first time during the entire season that Bonds hit 1.000 with no walks. In the second inning on Bonds’ first at-bat, Bacsik threw two consecutive strikes and then three consecutive walks. Everyone knows that hitting the ball on a 3-2 count is a lot easier than other counts because you’re almost certain the pitcher will try and throw into the strike zone so he doesn’t draw the walk. On Bacsik’s 6th pitch to Bonds, Bonds doubled to deep right center field. Mission failed… for now. On Bonds’ second at-bat in the 3rd inning, Bacsik threw the first pitch for a strike and then threw his second pitch in the strike zone again. This time Bonds hit it for a single. Again, mission failed.
With time running out for Bacsik, in the 5th inning, Bacsik made the most of the opportunity. On another 3-2 count allowing Bonds to chase the ball, Bascik threw an 84 mph pitch down the center of the plate for Bonds to smash it into the right field stands. Mission accomplished! An 84 mph pitch on a full count is a very weak pitch that is easy to hit, especially for guys like Bonds. What makes it worse is that during his post-game press conference, Bacsik says that he was trying to throw a fastball down and away for a strike. Really Bacsik? Are you really that bad that you ended up throwing an 84 mph pitch right down the strike zone? He stated “I wanted to go after him; I was trying to get him out. I threw a pitch that he really likes to hit and he did it.” Well if Bonds really likes to hit those pitches, and you know that for a fact, then why are you trying to strike him out with that pitch? Wouldn’t logic dictate that you throw a pitch he doesn’t like?
Bacsik was no doubt very excited for the moment. You’re probably asking yourself why this would make sense and that there is no way he did this intentionally. Well consider these facts. Coming up to the historic moment, there were many discussions and interviews around the league on whether ball players would want to give up the historic homerun. Not surprisingly, everyone said they wouldn’t. Discussions talked about how people would rather want to be the ones that struck Bonds out during his run. Well let me ask everyone this. Do you know even one pitcher that struck out Hank Aaron during his run? Do you even know who the last pitcher that struck out Bonds was? No one knows and your feat will not be recognized if you did.
The guy that gives up the homerun though, is set for life. Now, Mike Bacsik joins the company of Al Downing, the pitcher that gave up the 715th homerun to Hank Aaron, as the people set for life by the moment. It was found out, before Bacsik stepped on the mound, that Downing and Aaron would go to autograph sessions and card shows together to sign memorabilia for fans. Also noted, is that Downing made just as much money for the autograph sessions as Aaron. Bacsik knew that he was just another guy until the end of the 5th inning last night. He was a below average player in the prime of his career with a 4.47 ERA. He is so average that in the beginning of the year, he was in the minors for the Nationals. His baseball career isn’t going anywhere and he knew that. Now that he gave up the famous homerun? His baseball career is extended by 50 years. He and Bonds will go onto do the same thing Aaron and Downing have done during their retirement and get paid very well.
Bacsik didn’t hold his emotions after the game. Although he held his feelings inside on the mound, in the post-game press conference, he was ecstatic. One reporter even pointed out, “You seem genuinely tickled by this whole thing.” Bacsik replied, “Yea I’m excited, we won the game and I got to see history.” He went on to say the following, “You either have to be a really special player to be remembered in this game or be a part of a special moment” and “I didn’t want to give up the homerun but I’m lucky enough to be apart of a very special moment in sports history.” Bacsik knew what he was doing and did everything in his power to make sure he was the one that gave up the homerun. After the celebration, Bacsik then tried to become Bonds’ best friend by congratulating him; he stated that he told Bonds “He’s the best I’ve ever faced and probably the best of all time.” Let’s face it, Bonds is a jerk; unless you make the effort to become his friend, there’s no way he’s doing autograph sessions with you. No autograph sessions, no money…
Barry Bonds would have eventually hit number 756 barring an unlikely injury during the next week or so. However, the fact that a pitcher actually helped him out just so he could make money off of it is disgusting. Bacsik said, “Giving it up to Barry Bonds is nothing to be ashamed of.” Maybe so, but trying to be that pitcher that gives up 756 is something certainly to be ashamed of. Mike Bacsik is a sleezball that doesn’t deserve any profit from his ability to play poorly. He should not be linked to Barry Bonds, but rather as a guy with no integrity and no self respect.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Questions Regarding the Top 10 NFL Stories
10. How will the Eagles' offense be run?
The Philadelphia Eagles had an interesting year last season after the departure of Terrell Owens. The Eagles got off to a hot start with a 4-1 record. Things took a turn for the worst when they went 1-3 the next four games topped by a freakish injury to Donovan McNabb during a week 11 game against the Tennessee Titans. Just when hopes were lost, backup quarterback Jeff Garcia stepped up and led the team to a 10-6 record winning the NFC East. That year, running back Brian Westbrook finally broke 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career due to head coach Andy Reid’s willingness to let him rush the ball far more often than he had in the past (240 attempts in 2006, 156 attempts in 2005).
What does this mean to the Eagle’s offense in 2007? Look for Brian Westbrook to play the biggest role in the offense this year, not McNabb. Reid allowing Westbrook to run the ball more often will definitely help McNabb’s durability and confuse defenses. Another significant change in the offense this year is the change at wide receiver. 2006 #1 option, Donte Stallworth is gone along with former #1 option Todd Pinkston, which means McNabb needs to find a new #1 option. A lot of people are looking at Reggie Brown to take over the role but do not count out my sleeper, Hank Baskett. Baskett, now 24 years old, has looked great at times during the 2006 season and has made huge plays. He still has a while to go but in these next couple of years, look for him to mature and learn the game to eventually become the #1 option. A side note to the receiving team, Reid loves to run the screen, so Westbrook may get a lot of receiving yards to go along with his rushing yards.
9. What does Michael Vick's absence from the Falcons mean for the team?
It’s pretty widely accepted that Vick will not play for the Falcons this season. This is a huge change for the Falcons as it reshapes their entire offense. Joey Harrington will assume the starting position but he might not be able to hold onto it for too long. Who can take his place? How about D.J. Shockley? Everyone forgot about this Georgia star when he went down to injury his final year in college. He’s an upgraded version of Vick who’s only problem is that he is not durable. He is extremely mobile and has a strong arm for the long passes to newly acquired wide receiver Joe Horn. If he is given a fair chance, look for him to be a future stud.
Also, watch out for Jerious Norwood. Last year, at the age of 23, Norwood averaged 6.4 yards per carry finishing off the season with 633 yards and 2 touchdowns. With Warrick Dunn down, Norwood will be the starting running back. Expect him to get a lot of carries this year as the quarterback situation is up in the air.
8. How will the Carolina quarterback situation play out?
Jake Delhomme is still miraculously riding the train of success from his one really good game in the Super Bowl. Since then, he’s been nothing close to that greatness. He doesn’t perform well down the stretch and gives away crucial interceptions trying to force the ball after waiting too long in the pocket. He hasn’t been replaced permanently yet partially due to his past success and hope that he may perform great once again and partially due to the fact that the Panthers never had a reliable backup. That all changes this year. The Panthers have shown that they are not happy with Delhomme’s performance by grabbing David Carr as a backup. If the Panthers don’t see immediate results with Delhomme, look for them to fire their itchy trigger finger and bring in David Carr who has never had a legitimate chance to shine in the NFL. Give it until after week 5 when they play the New Orleans Saints for the quarterback switch.
7. Just how good/bad are the Lions?
The NFL is great. Why? Because anyone can win at any given time. Just ask the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers who were once a joke of the league quickly turning their franchise around is less than two seasons. A lot of people believe that this year, it will be the Lions. Quarterback Jon Kitna said the team will win ten games this year. The promised ten wins will most likely allow them to advance to the postseason.
Ten wins can be achievable for the Lions for a few reasons. One, they play in the NFC North; their only real competition is the Chicago Bears. Two, in 2006, the Lions lost a lot of close games including games against the Bears, the Patriots, the 49ers, the Seahawks, and the Rams. With a little more experience they can have a shot at closing these games out. Three, the running game for Detroit is a lot stronger. With Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams as two potential top notch receivers, defenses will concentrate on them, allowing running backs Kevin Jones and Tatum Bell more room to pick up yards.
The reason ten wins is a stupid prediction however, and the Lions will not contend this year is because of Kitna. His 21 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions are not very good stats if you want to contend with teams like Seattle, St. Louis, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Carolina. His quarterback rating was 79.9 last year and was well below 70 in crucial games the Lions needed to win. Also, Detroit’s offense and defense are one of the worst ranked in the league. The offense, achieving just 309.3 yards per game ranks 22nd in the league while the defense, allowing 345.6 yards per game ranks 28th in the league.
6. Who will have more snaps as the Jacksonville quarterback?
Jacksonville’s quarterback situation has been by far the messiest in the league. They have two quarterbacks that can essentially take that starting role in Byron Leftwich and David Garrard. Both are very inconsistent and Leftwich is injury prone. They both need to learn how to cut down on interceptions; Garrard needs to stop throwing into heavy coverage, and Leftwich needs to get rid of the ball quicker and capitalize on his strength: short passes. This will also help his body as he will not take so many hits allowing him to finish out seasons. Leftwich is slightly better because he stays in the pocket and makes better decisions than Garrard. A potential success to having both of these guys, is switching to a two-quarterback system the way more and more colleges are doing every year. I don’t think it will happen anytime soon but it would be very interesting to watch the amount of success or failure it can deliver to an NFL team.
5. Will Tony Romo & Wade Phillips be successful?
The Cowboys have finally left the era of old school quarterbacks and the Big Tuna. The question is, will the new system work? Tony Romo has shown some great stuff in his first year but he has also shown that he can go through a slump much like his NFC East rivals. His confidence doesn’t seem to be shaken from last year’s heart breaking loss to Seattle in the playoffs, so it could mean good times ahead. The biggest factor of a new quarterback and a new coach in Wade Phillips, is the Terrell Owens factor. Romo has shown that he is his favorite target and Phillips doesn’t seem to have a problem with Owens. He has mentioned him by name in news conferences and has allowed him to stick around the training room while he’s injured instead of forcing him to step out on the practice field.
The negatives are as I mentioned, Romo went through a slump near the end of the season costing the Cowboys the division title. After starting 5-1, the Cowboys fell off losing 3 of their last 4 games including a game against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.
All is not Romo’s fault however. The defense stopped responding to Bill Parcells and defensive coordinator, Don Zimmer down the stretch. The Cowboys gave up 33 points per game during their 4 game slump including 31 points to the atrocious Detroit Lions. This was the reason behind the hiring of 3-4 defensive genius Wade Phillips. He will no doubt get that defense in top shape for the new season as he did for the San Diego Chargers last season (The Chargers ranked 10th in the league in total yards allowed and 7th in rushing yards allowed last season). However, with every plus, there’s a minus; throughout Phillips’ coaching career, he has never won a playoff game. This is certainly discouraging for Cowboys fans and it is something to carefully consider if Dallas makes the postseason.
4. Can the Chargers' passing game keep the team in the hunt?
The Chargers finished last season with the best record in the league, 14-2. A lot of the credit goes to LaDainian Tomlinson (1,815 yards rushing, 28 TD’s), but don’t discount quarterback Philip River’s contribution to it as well. River’s 92 passer rating (8th in the league) along with his 22 TD’s and 9 INT’s, kept defenses aware of the passing attack allowing LDT to run for more yards. This year, the receiving core is one year more mature but with one less player, Keenan McCardell. Although McCardell didn’t have many yards, his intangibles of taking a DE off of the younger guys helped the team out a lot.
This year, wide receiver Vincent Jackson needs to step up in order for the Chargers to pursue a championship. With Eric Parker out for the year, no other wide receiver has enough experience to be considered the #2 option so pay attention to a potential Marques Colston in San Diego this year. If these guys don’t step up, figuring out the Chargers offense will be a walk in the park by putting 9 guys in the box to slow down LDT and sticking two guys on Antonio Gates. Will the offense be a problem? No, not in my opinion, but it still remains to be seen if Jackson can carry the load.
3. Will the Steelers bounce back this year?
The Steelers fell off the map fast after winning their fifth Super Bowl two years ago. After injuries to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the team crumbled. Pittsburgh finished the season with a disappointing 8-8 record, missing the playoffs. The silver lining to last year was that the Steelers won 6 of their last 8 games; granted the teams down the stretch weren’t very good but none-the-less, a win is a win. Roethlisberger never looked like a great quarterback since the 2005 AFC Championship game however. Even during last year’s stretch, he threw too many interceptions (23 total for the year). In order for the Steelers to bounce back this season, Roethlisberger has to play like he used to, meaning making better decisions and surveying the field better. Stop staring at Hines Ward throughout the whole play and glance over at Heath Miller and Santonio Holmes. This will confuse defenses and allow Roethlisberger to throw into single coverage’s.
2. How good is the all new Broncos team?
The starting roster of key players for the 2006 Broncos looked like this:
QB: Jake Plummer
RB: Tatum Bell
WR: Javon Walker
WR: Rod Smith
TE: Tony Scheffler
In 2007, here’s how it looks:
QB: Jay Cutler
RB: Travis Henry
WR: Javon Walker
WR: Brandon Stokley
TE: Daniel Graham
The entire offensive side of the ball has changed with the exception of Javon Walker. More changes have been made as well including G Montrae Holland, CB Dre Bly, DT Alvin McKinley, DT Sam Adams, and LB D.D. Lewis; not to mention a few backups they received as well. They completely changed almost the entire roster even after making it to the Conference Championships two years prior.
The new roster does look promising however. Cutler posted up a QB rating of 88.5 in the 5 games he played last season. The acquisition of Travis Henry also gives the team a proven starter on a team run by Mike Shanahan (a running back’s best friend). The receiving core is better too with a much younger Brandon Stokley as Cutler’s second option and a more experienced TE in Graham. They’ll need these receivers to help out as the AFC West was one of the hardest divisions in the league as far as passing yards allowed is concerned. As far as the defense goes, the Broncos now have the best CB tandem in the entire league. Dre Bly paired with Champ Bailey will give opposing offenses a hard time trying to get their passing game going. This Bronco team is definitely more impressive and the changes needed to take place. Cutler is too young however, and he will make mistakes that will cost the Broncos to miss out on the postseason this year.
1. How can anyone stop the Patriots?
Getting to the top story of the 2007 NFL season, the New England Patriots look immortal. With a whole new set of wide receivers including Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Kelley Washington, and Wes Welker, quarterback Tom Brady has many options in the pocket. This receiving core will also allow the field to open up giving more room for running back Laurence Maroney to run around in. A lot of people have written off Maroney because of the absence of Corey Dillon and the belief in the sophomore slump. He will succeed this year, solely because of this point. Safeties will be forced to stand back picking up wide receiver coverage’s, especially if head coach Bill Belichick decides to run the four wide receiver option every play (which he should). Seriously, how do you stop a four wide receiver option with Tom Brady having to choose between Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Troy Brown? You can’t! It’d be like trying to catch four chicken’s running around a barn. It’s hard enough catching one, but catching four? Forget it people, you’re not stopping the Patriots offense.
There has to be an answer; these guys are human after all. This isn’t Zeus and his divine cavalry we’re talking about. There is an option of simply outscoring the Patriots. Obviously, this isn’t very easy either. The Patriots defense was ranked 6th last year in total yards allowed, 294.4. In rushing yards allowed, it was ranked 5th, but in passing yards allowed it was ranked 12th. We have a weakness! Not a very strong weakness, but a weakness none-the-less. What makes this more of a problem is that the Patriots’ shutdown corner, Asante Samuel isn’t very happy with the team for franchising him and refusing to sign a long term contract with him. To this day, Samuel and the Patriots have not reached a deal and Samuel continues to hold out. He may take the option of not playing for the first 10 games of the season. Worse, another CB, Chad Scott is out for the year with a knee injury. He probably wasn’t going to replace Samuel in the lineup but he would’ve been an important bench player. This will be a huge blow to the Patriots secondary. Rodney Harrison, the team’s starting Strong Safety is another old player prone to injury. Also, Eugene Wilson, the team’s starting Free Safety is coming off an injury that kept him out of most of the 2006 season. This leaves rookie Brandon Meriweather and 23 year old, James Sanders at the safety positions if these two should go down.
Luckily for the rest of the AFC, outscoring the Patriots maybe doable. The list of teams that can accomplish this task include, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Indianapolis Colts, the San Diego Chargers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Best of all, all of these teams have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs; perhaps an upset waiting to happen? It certainly is possible.
References: ESPN.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com
Sports Moment of the Week
In the 'Oh My God, did you just see that?!' moment this week, Washington Nationals second baseman Ronnie Belliard, had an incredible play when he flipped the ball to shortstop Felipe Lopez on August 1st against the Cincinnati Reds to throw out outfielder Ryan Freel. There is no way to describe how awesome this play was, you're just going to have to watch it yourself.
The Philadelphia Eagles had an interesting year last season after the departure of Terrell Owens. The Eagles got off to a hot start with a 4-1 record. Things took a turn for the worst when they went 1-3 the next four games topped by a freakish injury to Donovan McNabb during a week 11 game against the Tennessee Titans. Just when hopes were lost, backup quarterback Jeff Garcia stepped up and led the team to a 10-6 record winning the NFC East. That year, running back Brian Westbrook finally broke 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career due to head coach Andy Reid’s willingness to let him rush the ball far more often than he had in the past (240 attempts in 2006, 156 attempts in 2005).
What does this mean to the Eagle’s offense in 2007? Look for Brian Westbrook to play the biggest role in the offense this year, not McNabb. Reid allowing Westbrook to run the ball more often will definitely help McNabb’s durability and confuse defenses. Another significant change in the offense this year is the change at wide receiver. 2006 #1 option, Donte Stallworth is gone along with former #1 option Todd Pinkston, which means McNabb needs to find a new #1 option. A lot of people are looking at Reggie Brown to take over the role but do not count out my sleeper, Hank Baskett. Baskett, now 24 years old, has looked great at times during the 2006 season and has made huge plays. He still has a while to go but in these next couple of years, look for him to mature and learn the game to eventually become the #1 option. A side note to the receiving team, Reid loves to run the screen, so Westbrook may get a lot of receiving yards to go along with his rushing yards.
9. What does Michael Vick's absence from the Falcons mean for the team?
It’s pretty widely accepted that Vick will not play for the Falcons this season. This is a huge change for the Falcons as it reshapes their entire offense. Joey Harrington will assume the starting position but he might not be able to hold onto it for too long. Who can take his place? How about D.J. Shockley? Everyone forgot about this Georgia star when he went down to injury his final year in college. He’s an upgraded version of Vick who’s only problem is that he is not durable. He is extremely mobile and has a strong arm for the long passes to newly acquired wide receiver Joe Horn. If he is given a fair chance, look for him to be a future stud.
Also, watch out for Jerious Norwood. Last year, at the age of 23, Norwood averaged 6.4 yards per carry finishing off the season with 633 yards and 2 touchdowns. With Warrick Dunn down, Norwood will be the starting running back. Expect him to get a lot of carries this year as the quarterback situation is up in the air.
8. How will the Carolina quarterback situation play out?
Jake Delhomme is still miraculously riding the train of success from his one really good game in the Super Bowl. Since then, he’s been nothing close to that greatness. He doesn’t perform well down the stretch and gives away crucial interceptions trying to force the ball after waiting too long in the pocket. He hasn’t been replaced permanently yet partially due to his past success and hope that he may perform great once again and partially due to the fact that the Panthers never had a reliable backup. That all changes this year. The Panthers have shown that they are not happy with Delhomme’s performance by grabbing David Carr as a backup. If the Panthers don’t see immediate results with Delhomme, look for them to fire their itchy trigger finger and bring in David Carr who has never had a legitimate chance to shine in the NFL. Give it until after week 5 when they play the New Orleans Saints for the quarterback switch.
7. Just how good/bad are the Lions?
The NFL is great. Why? Because anyone can win at any given time. Just ask the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers who were once a joke of the league quickly turning their franchise around is less than two seasons. A lot of people believe that this year, it will be the Lions. Quarterback Jon Kitna said the team will win ten games this year. The promised ten wins will most likely allow them to advance to the postseason.
Ten wins can be achievable for the Lions for a few reasons. One, they play in the NFC North; their only real competition is the Chicago Bears. Two, in 2006, the Lions lost a lot of close games including games against the Bears, the Patriots, the 49ers, the Seahawks, and the Rams. With a little more experience they can have a shot at closing these games out. Three, the running game for Detroit is a lot stronger. With Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams as two potential top notch receivers, defenses will concentrate on them, allowing running backs Kevin Jones and Tatum Bell more room to pick up yards.
The reason ten wins is a stupid prediction however, and the Lions will not contend this year is because of Kitna. His 21 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions are not very good stats if you want to contend with teams like Seattle, St. Louis, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Carolina. His quarterback rating was 79.9 last year and was well below 70 in crucial games the Lions needed to win. Also, Detroit’s offense and defense are one of the worst ranked in the league. The offense, achieving just 309.3 yards per game ranks 22nd in the league while the defense, allowing 345.6 yards per game ranks 28th in the league.
6. Who will have more snaps as the Jacksonville quarterback?
Jacksonville’s quarterback situation has been by far the messiest in the league. They have two quarterbacks that can essentially take that starting role in Byron Leftwich and David Garrard. Both are very inconsistent and Leftwich is injury prone. They both need to learn how to cut down on interceptions; Garrard needs to stop throwing into heavy coverage, and Leftwich needs to get rid of the ball quicker and capitalize on his strength: short passes. This will also help his body as he will not take so many hits allowing him to finish out seasons. Leftwich is slightly better because he stays in the pocket and makes better decisions than Garrard. A potential success to having both of these guys, is switching to a two-quarterback system the way more and more colleges are doing every year. I don’t think it will happen anytime soon but it would be very interesting to watch the amount of success or failure it can deliver to an NFL team.
5. Will Tony Romo & Wade Phillips be successful?
The Cowboys have finally left the era of old school quarterbacks and the Big Tuna. The question is, will the new system work? Tony Romo has shown some great stuff in his first year but he has also shown that he can go through a slump much like his NFC East rivals. His confidence doesn’t seem to be shaken from last year’s heart breaking loss to Seattle in the playoffs, so it could mean good times ahead. The biggest factor of a new quarterback and a new coach in Wade Phillips, is the Terrell Owens factor. Romo has shown that he is his favorite target and Phillips doesn’t seem to have a problem with Owens. He has mentioned him by name in news conferences and has allowed him to stick around the training room while he’s injured instead of forcing him to step out on the practice field.
The negatives are as I mentioned, Romo went through a slump near the end of the season costing the Cowboys the division title. After starting 5-1, the Cowboys fell off losing 3 of their last 4 games including a game against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.
All is not Romo’s fault however. The defense stopped responding to Bill Parcells and defensive coordinator, Don Zimmer down the stretch. The Cowboys gave up 33 points per game during their 4 game slump including 31 points to the atrocious Detroit Lions. This was the reason behind the hiring of 3-4 defensive genius Wade Phillips. He will no doubt get that defense in top shape for the new season as he did for the San Diego Chargers last season (The Chargers ranked 10th in the league in total yards allowed and 7th in rushing yards allowed last season). However, with every plus, there’s a minus; throughout Phillips’ coaching career, he has never won a playoff game. This is certainly discouraging for Cowboys fans and it is something to carefully consider if Dallas makes the postseason.
4. Can the Chargers' passing game keep the team in the hunt?
The Chargers finished last season with the best record in the league, 14-2. A lot of the credit goes to LaDainian Tomlinson (1,815 yards rushing, 28 TD’s), but don’t discount quarterback Philip River’s contribution to it as well. River’s 92 passer rating (8th in the league) along with his 22 TD’s and 9 INT’s, kept defenses aware of the passing attack allowing LDT to run for more yards. This year, the receiving core is one year more mature but with one less player, Keenan McCardell. Although McCardell didn’t have many yards, his intangibles of taking a DE off of the younger guys helped the team out a lot.
This year, wide receiver Vincent Jackson needs to step up in order for the Chargers to pursue a championship. With Eric Parker out for the year, no other wide receiver has enough experience to be considered the #2 option so pay attention to a potential Marques Colston in San Diego this year. If these guys don’t step up, figuring out the Chargers offense will be a walk in the park by putting 9 guys in the box to slow down LDT and sticking two guys on Antonio Gates. Will the offense be a problem? No, not in my opinion, but it still remains to be seen if Jackson can carry the load.
3. Will the Steelers bounce back this year?
The Steelers fell off the map fast after winning their fifth Super Bowl two years ago. After injuries to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the team crumbled. Pittsburgh finished the season with a disappointing 8-8 record, missing the playoffs. The silver lining to last year was that the Steelers won 6 of their last 8 games; granted the teams down the stretch weren’t very good but none-the-less, a win is a win. Roethlisberger never looked like a great quarterback since the 2005 AFC Championship game however. Even during last year’s stretch, he threw too many interceptions (23 total for the year). In order for the Steelers to bounce back this season, Roethlisberger has to play like he used to, meaning making better decisions and surveying the field better. Stop staring at Hines Ward throughout the whole play and glance over at Heath Miller and Santonio Holmes. This will confuse defenses and allow Roethlisberger to throw into single coverage’s.
2. How good is the all new Broncos team?
The starting roster of key players for the 2006 Broncos looked like this:
QB: Jake Plummer
RB: Tatum Bell
WR: Javon Walker
WR: Rod Smith
TE: Tony Scheffler
In 2007, here’s how it looks:
QB: Jay Cutler
RB: Travis Henry
WR: Javon Walker
WR: Brandon Stokley
TE: Daniel Graham
The entire offensive side of the ball has changed with the exception of Javon Walker. More changes have been made as well including G Montrae Holland, CB Dre Bly, DT Alvin McKinley, DT Sam Adams, and LB D.D. Lewis; not to mention a few backups they received as well. They completely changed almost the entire roster even after making it to the Conference Championships two years prior.
The new roster does look promising however. Cutler posted up a QB rating of 88.5 in the 5 games he played last season. The acquisition of Travis Henry also gives the team a proven starter on a team run by Mike Shanahan (a running back’s best friend). The receiving core is better too with a much younger Brandon Stokley as Cutler’s second option and a more experienced TE in Graham. They’ll need these receivers to help out as the AFC West was one of the hardest divisions in the league as far as passing yards allowed is concerned. As far as the defense goes, the Broncos now have the best CB tandem in the entire league. Dre Bly paired with Champ Bailey will give opposing offenses a hard time trying to get their passing game going. This Bronco team is definitely more impressive and the changes needed to take place. Cutler is too young however, and he will make mistakes that will cost the Broncos to miss out on the postseason this year.
1. How can anyone stop the Patriots?
Getting to the top story of the 2007 NFL season, the New England Patriots look immortal. With a whole new set of wide receivers including Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Kelley Washington, and Wes Welker, quarterback Tom Brady has many options in the pocket. This receiving core will also allow the field to open up giving more room for running back Laurence Maroney to run around in. A lot of people have written off Maroney because of the absence of Corey Dillon and the belief in the sophomore slump. He will succeed this year, solely because of this point. Safeties will be forced to stand back picking up wide receiver coverage’s, especially if head coach Bill Belichick decides to run the four wide receiver option every play (which he should). Seriously, how do you stop a four wide receiver option with Tom Brady having to choose between Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Troy Brown? You can’t! It’d be like trying to catch four chicken’s running around a barn. It’s hard enough catching one, but catching four? Forget it people, you’re not stopping the Patriots offense.
There has to be an answer; these guys are human after all. This isn’t Zeus and his divine cavalry we’re talking about. There is an option of simply outscoring the Patriots. Obviously, this isn’t very easy either. The Patriots defense was ranked 6th last year in total yards allowed, 294.4. In rushing yards allowed, it was ranked 5th, but in passing yards allowed it was ranked 12th. We have a weakness! Not a very strong weakness, but a weakness none-the-less. What makes this more of a problem is that the Patriots’ shutdown corner, Asante Samuel isn’t very happy with the team for franchising him and refusing to sign a long term contract with him. To this day, Samuel and the Patriots have not reached a deal and Samuel continues to hold out. He may take the option of not playing for the first 10 games of the season. Worse, another CB, Chad Scott is out for the year with a knee injury. He probably wasn’t going to replace Samuel in the lineup but he would’ve been an important bench player. This will be a huge blow to the Patriots secondary. Rodney Harrison, the team’s starting Strong Safety is another old player prone to injury. Also, Eugene Wilson, the team’s starting Free Safety is coming off an injury that kept him out of most of the 2006 season. This leaves rookie Brandon Meriweather and 23 year old, James Sanders at the safety positions if these two should go down.
Luckily for the rest of the AFC, outscoring the Patriots maybe doable. The list of teams that can accomplish this task include, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Indianapolis Colts, the San Diego Chargers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Best of all, all of these teams have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs; perhaps an upset waiting to happen? It certainly is possible.
References: ESPN.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com
Sports Moment of the Week
In the 'Oh My God, did you just see that?!' moment this week, Washington Nationals second baseman Ronnie Belliard, had an incredible play when he flipped the ball to shortstop Felipe Lopez on August 1st against the Cincinnati Reds to throw out outfielder Ryan Freel. There is no way to describe how awesome this play was, you're just going to have to watch it yourself.
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