He's definitely not good, but not quite as bad as people claim. He can break off a decent run here and there, but doesn't really have the toughness to shed tackles. He's getting 3.9 a pop for now. Just so you know Parker, that's what your beloved Forte has averaged over his career. Of course anyone wants better than that, but it's not quite abysmal. The problem with Jackson is he's a third down back playing as a starter. Our running game is 23rd overall, so again, not as bad as sports center makes it out to be. Of course we won't be near the top of the league in that category for awhile, we're a pass first team and that's not going to change. Why the hell wouldn't we be after having Favre and Rodgers now? As for being a packer fan in Minnesota - it's not as bad as you think. It's pretty common here since Wisconsin is right next door. It was kind of funny after our last game against the vikings. On Friday everyone had their Favre jerseys out, but on Monday there was about 20 guys in my office with packer jerseys and literally no one representing the vikings. Also, whenever viking fans want to talk smack it's pretty easy to just compare championships. It's not like they can say much about that.
Frank Gore is out for the year. The 49ers shouldn't be relevant, but in that perenially atrocious division somehow they still are. I'm actually kind of eager to see how Westbrook does. I was a big fan of his (from a fantasy standpoint, at least) when he was in Philly. To all the Bears fans on Julius Peppers' nuts: yeah, he's a phenomenal talent. An absolute beast -- when he wants to be. I'm not saying it'll happen this year, or even next, but the second he starts to get bored, watch out. I spent entire games watching only him the last few years, and it's not a rumor that he takes plays off. Lots of them. This wasn't just when Carolina was bad; this happened a lot during the 12-4 season, as well. Maybe Chicago will be able to keep him more engaged. We'll see. I remember being similarly in love with him when he was going full-throttle his first several years with the Panthers, but by the time he left, it was good-riddance. Also, Derek Anderson's postgame interview was pretty funny. He turned into a total child. Can't wait to see it in a Coors Light commercial.
Now I know he's known for hard hits and such but again, like Mike Ness said, is this logical? He gets the same fine the other two did for fist fighting on the field? I don't get it. I don't get that it was the same hit as the prior week which gained him no fine either. I don't get why, if the guy is delivering the same blows that are warranting these fines, why is the fine not increased? 125k so far this season? Seems to me their method of controlling these types of hits just isn't working and it's making it all one big fat fucking joke. Let them play for fuck sake. This shit is getting more attention from the media and public than what's going on on the field and it's ridiclous.
I completely disagree with this. He got pissed and left, he didn't turn into a child. I think he should have said, "You know why I smiled because my teammate said that some jerk off journalist was going to ask why I was smiling on the sideline. That reporter was needling him and trying to get the reaction he got. Anderson smiled for about six seconds, does that mean he's not intense? Trust me I had the smiling fool on my team for years. McNabb constantly tapped his chest, grinned and said "my fault." That to me showed a lack of intensity not Derek Anderson grinning because his teammate made a joke on the sideline. The reporters are fucking imbeciles every little thing get's asked about, Mark Sanchez did you eat a hot dog on the sideline? Is that a good message to our youth? Derek did you smile when your team was losing what does that say about you dedication to the team? Stupid. The fines are so inconsistent and haphazard it makes no sense. Harrison has been a repeat offender but I think the league is handling it poorly. He is not leaving his feet and clearly not making an intentional, malicious hit so why continue to fine him? I'm not saying to do nothing if they feel that strongly about the situation but they need a new strategy. I think I'm with the majority however when I say let them play and get them better helmets, and better insurance. It's funny because there is much speculation that the reason no suspension occurred in the Johnson fight was because Andre plays Thursday night in a prime time game. I really don't think that cynically but the argument can be made. As far as Green Bay is concerned the real crime is that either the 49ers ,Rams or Seahawks will make the Playoffs because their division is a freaking joke. Last point no one answered my question as to when the last time a white running back made the pro bowl? Crazy year this year.
The reporter asked the question because fans were asking it. Pretend you're a Cardinals fan. You team has lost, what, six straight? With one of the main reasons being shoddy quarterback play? Your team's being nationally showcased (to the nation's chagrin) on MNF, and you're clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, with a win tonight your team's season will turn around. Instead, your squad gets embarrassed by an equally unimpressive team who lost their workhorse RB early in the game. Just as you're about to turn off the TV, drink the last beer in your six pack and go to bed, you see shitty ass Derek Anderson yukking it up on the sideline. The reporter said today he asked that question in response to a flood of text messages/Twitter mentions he received before the end of the game. Part of a sports reporter's job is to be the voice of the fan, to ask the questions everyday Joe wants to ask but can't. The question was extremely fucking legit. Anderson's response was childish because he repeatedly denied the obvious without offering a rational response. Like a 4-year-old would have. Also, I challenge you at the end of the next football game you watch to come up with five solid questions you'd ask the coach/players at a press conference. Pretend you're coming up with said questions while basically sprinting from the press box to the media room, 10 pages of notes in one hand and 10 pages of scribbled stats in the other, while also trying to post to Twitter/a blog/your paper's breaking news section. But yeah, sure, just blame "poor questions" on everyone's favorite scapegoat, the "imbecile media." Obviously, you could do a much better job. To answer YOUR question, I'm not going to do your research for you, but I'd be willing to bet a shitload of money on a little fella named Mike Alstott. And that wasn't too long ago.
Couldn't agree more with Mikey on this. During some of the saddest and toughest moments in my life, I have smiled and laughed when a friend made a joke. Does that mean I was perfectly content, without a care in the world, and was it an accurate reflection of how I felt overall? Of course not. Only a fool would think so. But then again, most of the fans are idiots, and don't apply critical thinking to any "story", no matter how artificial and manufactured it is. They're infinitely more interested in what someone says or how they appear and not what the hell they actually do. His performance that game was awful and should rightly be criticized. The fact that he smiled when a teammate told him something shouldn't. The reporter did what anyone in the dying field of "sports journalism" gets paid to do these days; stir shit up. He succeeded. So what? Except he wasn't "yukking it up". This is exactly the type of bullshit exaggeration journalists rely upon so you can take their BS stories seriously. Anderson smiled for a few seconds when another player said something to him. That's it. What kind of response were you looking for? What could Anderson have said there? "What does me smiling on the sideline for a moment have to do with not being invested in this game, especially since my fucking career and millions of dollars are on the line?" He said as much, actually, upon which the reporter continued asking the same question, finally getting his reward when Anderson went off.
Anderson got caught between a rock and a hard place during that interview. Yeah, the reporter was needling him, but the reporter was doing his job. Anderson doesn't have to look depressed, angry and somber during the whole game also. But what everyone is going to stop and point to (which they did was) "Would Brady or Manning laugh or smile at all during a loss like that? No, they wouldn't." Anderson's response was caught between the "What the fuck else am I supposed to say after getting caught? I'm fucked three ways to Sunday anyway" and "Why the fuck is this guy needling me on some pointless shit anyway? We lost, and I played like shit. Does it matter if I laugh or cry? Fuck this guy." That rant was the only way out of it. I'm not going to qualify his behavior but its pretty obvious he's done as a starter sooner than later. Oh and Matt Forte isn't my beloved anything, even though he's been doing great on my fantasy team. Julius Peppers right now is my beloved DE, who will eat Rogers later this year. Matt Forte's ypc is crap because of poor play calling, if you haven't noticed its been going up per game. Also you're not factoring in (and I'm not doing the math) that he'll have a bunch of 1-2 yard runs, then break off a 20-30 yard play later, which Jackson is not doing. And to jump on the white RB bandwagon with another Mike Alstott clone. Gerheart in MN was running pretty well. We'll see some more of him given the fact Peterson is injured. I have a job interview that could finally start my career and life on Thursday, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't compare to what is going down Monday Night. Why don't we do predictions in this thread? Not betting lines, just predictions.
New England 34 New York 24 I don't see Sanchez replicating the successful game he had in the previous matchup, as I think the Pats are really going to try to get after him, and not let him standstill in the pocket. NE's secondary is their weak point (most passing YPG allowed in NFL), whereas their run D has been pretty good. I anticipate Belichick putting on tons of pressure to try to shrink the advantage between his young CB's and the Jet's talented wideouts. Neither team has been very dominate thus far, despite their very favorable records. The Jets, who seem to do just enough to win, are 4-1 in the last five weeks, with last minute victories against DET, CLE and HOU after being shutout by the Packers. I have yet to see the Pats play a complete game in a game they have won. Games against CIN, BUF, SD, IND and DET all spring to mind as examples of very spotty play with the first four being examples of NE attaining a big lead and then just sitting back idly as their opponents make all of these games close, and the game against DET, in which we all saw on Turkey Day, with NE trailing at halftime until they finally decided to turn it on. Neither team inspires much confidence in me at this point. Because of the uncertainty of both teams, I really feel this game could go either way on Monday night. Bottom line though, I'm going with the Pats, due to a gut feeling associated with the "don't bet against the Patriots at home in December" factor.
I can't predict the score but I see it coming down to the wire. If I had to pick, I'd say 28-24 NE with NY failing to come from behind due to a redzone stand by NE.
Sorry to jump on you, but this random criticism of the patriots is getting really stupid, especially after they just destroyed the steelers (that's not a complete game???) and beat Indianapolis. Sure, the colts game was close, but so what? Is it supposed to be a gimme win or something? Who gives a shit what the half time score against Detroit was? There's a reason games go for four quarters and they blew the lions out. And I don't see why everyone is forgetting what happened in the bengals game. NE won by 14, that's not really close. In fact, you pretty much NEVER see teams in ANY season average a win margin like that. And Buffalo pulled within 8 when there was 4 minutes left. Again, that's not a bad win. I don't know what the fuck the patriots have to do to convince you people they're a good team. Blow everyone out by 50 fucking points? I think there's a lot of legit marks against the defense, but as a whole, they're pretty damn good. I say NE wins 24-17, but it could go either way. As for Forte, I didn't mean to imply he wasn't a better player than Jackson. He is, and by a large margin, but I was just using the YPC example to point out that the packers running game, while bad, isn't quite the shambles the talking heads make it out to be. I'm not sure I prefer random 20-30 yd runs rather than consistency though. I guess it depends on when those big runs come. Edit: Ok, averaging a 14 point win margin might not be completely unheard of, but it's still a solid win. It's nothing to shake your head at. And Brady should be in the MVP discussion. I'm not sure anyone is playing better right now.
I hear you dude. The Pats are my fucking team. I love them, and I think they are one of, if not the best outright, teams in the league. My criticism was in the way they stall out in games. Yes, they're winning these games despite "hitting that wall", (which is obviously preferable to stalling out, losing and trying to fix the problems while also battling for a playoff spot) but they still don't inspire the total confidence that we've come to expect from a 9-2 team. I absolutely don't expect victory margins rivaling the 2007 Patriots, nor do I actually care about the margin of victory that much at all, I'm just concerned with the way they get up, then let up in some of these games. The Pats were up big on the Colts, and absolutely shut it down in the 2nd half, opening the door for the Colts to come right back, and not only make it a game with a chance to tie, but to actually win as well. I didn't expect a blowout against the Colts, and you can definitely have a well fought 3 pt. win, but when you're up by three possessions in the 4th quarter you should control the game, control the clock and take care of business. I'll give you the Lions game, however. Tough start, but they overcame and then blew them out. To address your last point, I think people do see the Patriots as a good team (SportsNation voters had them as the best in the league in their recent poll), they're just not as dominant this year as they have been in the past, and therefore controversy ensues. I think my opinion of the Pat's can even be extended to the whole league in the sense that there are good teams but no teams that are "on" week after week and are blowing opposing team's doors off, like we've come to expect. Philly has looked both unstoppable and downright average (vs. WAS; vs. CHI). A handful of other teams have also appeared to be among the top of the NFL one week, and completely mediocre the next including NYG, GB, NO, NE, PIT, CHI, NYJ, and BAL, with the lone exception being ATL, which, in my opinion, has been the most stable team of the top tier (IMHO).
Hines Ward calls out the NFL for their hypocrisy It's about time that someone speaks up, and it's just as well that it's Ward. Something has to give here in this whole player safety bullshit. There's a balance between safety and the fact that your sport is inherently among the most violent (in this country, anyway). Right now, the NFL is leaning too far towards the former and abandoning the latter. It's especially bad when they're making all of these changes as quickly as they have been. Suddenly, we have an entire generation of NFL players who don't know how to play other than how they've been taught their whole lives who are being punished for it, as James Harrison made the point of saying. Now there's this great divide between the way we're all used to the NFL being played, and how they're trying to make it be played, and I don't think anyone except Roger Goodell and his cronies know where the acceptable level of physicality lies at this point. If the NFL wants to be safer, they need to slowly integrate this stuff over time, so that the players and fans are able to live with it, even if they don't accept it. The players who want to play will continue to play, and the fans who want to watch will continue to watch. But then you have guys like Harrison contemplating retirement, because it's not worth the hassle. He's a square peg of brute force in a round hole of soft play.
Actually, according to Football Outsiders, you probably should; <a class="postlink" href="http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2005/fo-fox-guts-and-stomps" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-a ... and-stomps</a> It's an interesting article, and intuitively, makes sense; destroying teams, even "bad" ones, is the mark of a true championship contender. By that metric, the Patriots have 2 STOMPS so far (Cinci, Detroit), and 3 GUTS (Pittsburgh, Indie, Baltimore). The only team in the last decade that won the Super Bowl and had more GUTS than STOMPS? The 2003 Patriots. So yeah, while this whole season has been unusual, the Patriots are a bit of an outlier compared to a typical 9-2 team/championship contender. I think they're a very good team, but JPrue's concerns are valid.
Those are some interesting statistics considering that, you know, you won't be playing Detroit in the playoffs. It would have been nice to see the data from more recent years as well. While those numbers don't bode well for the patriots, there's something else to point out about this season. I don't think there's any team 8-3 or better that has more stomps than guts. In fact the only playoff contender that comes to mind that can boast this is Green Bay (although I'm too lazy to check the 6-5/other 7-4 teams). So while the patriots might not be getting enough blow outs for now, the same holds true for the other top teams.
Was one three second smile "yucking it up?" He also did not just simply ask the question. He continued to push and push rather than leave it alone. Anderson did say that what him and his lineman talk about on the sideline is his business. I'm glad the reporter is representing the fans with twitter because any serious sports journalist should base his questions on twitter. Asking the question initially was fine, but he continued to push so he could get that reaction from Anderson. Five questions? Seriously? I'm sure anyone could come up with five better questions for a team that made the superbowl two years ago then "why did you smile on the sidelines." Also no reason to blame the Media this is what they are known for, how can I get myself or my question on sports center or the news, hard hitting journalists don't care about that shit. Also Alstott was a full back, I meant the question as a white tailback.
As much as I understand their grievances and that the NFL should fulfill contractual obligations statements like this crack me up. You're going to cancel somebody's health insurance and maybe they've got a baby that's due in the offseason?" he said. "Yeah, it gets personal." How on earth will you afford insurance with your 420k league minimum salary? Cry me a river.
Wow, Haloti Ngata broke Big Ben's nose. He bent over and blood went spewing out of it. Then they showed him on the sidelines and the nose is definitely crooked. No flag.
What a fucking finish to an awesome game. Spoiler The Polamalu sack fumble, Big Ben holding off Suggs just long enough to throw it away and that 3rd down run after the catch, which looked to be an easy stop on a pass quite short of the end zone. Amazing, double take type plays. I love football.