Saturday, January 9, 2010
Cowboys vs Eagles - NFL NFC Wild Card Playoff mattch 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Alabama back on top in final AP poll
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Alabama win BCS Championship, beat no. 2 Texas
The sure thing was looking shaky for Alabama.
Hanging onto a precarious three-point lead and with momentum on the other side, linebacker Eryk Anders made sure the championship wouldn’t slip away.
Anders forced a fumble on his blindside sack of Texas backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert with 3:02 left Thursday night to help the top-ranked Crimson Tide hold on for a 37-21 victory in the BCS title game—a win that figured to be much easier when Alabama knocked out Colt McCoy early in the first quarter.
With McCoy on the sideline nursing a shoulder injury, the Tide rolled to a 24-6 lead at halftime, the final touchdown coming when lineman Marcell Dareus picked off a shovel pass and returned it 28 yards for the score late in the second quarter.
The second half figured to be a laugher with Gilbert in the game—a freshman who was Texas’ “quarterback of the future” but had thrown only 26 college passes.
The kid almost did it, though.
He threw two touchdown passes to All-American Jordan Shipley to trim the deficit to 24-21 with 6:15 left, and after an Alabama punt, he had the ball at the 7-yard line, 93 yards away from one of the most improbable comeback stories in the history of the game.
But after an Alabama holding penalty moved the ball to the 17, Gilbert dropped back to pass and got rocked by Anders, a senior who plays in the shadow of All-Americans Terrence Cody and Rolando McClain. The ball went flying and Courtney Upshaw recovered.
Three plays later, Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram surged into the end zone from the 1 for the 10-point lead. A few minutes later, after Gilbert’s third interception of the night, Trent Richardson scored his second touchdown to make it 37-21.
Then the party began. Glory came back to one of the country’s most storied programs, the football factory that Bear Bryant built, courtesy of Nick Saban, who resurrected this team in the short span of three seasons.
Source: YahooSports
Hanging onto a precarious three-point lead and with momentum on the other side, linebacker Eryk Anders made sure the championship wouldn’t slip away.
Anders forced a fumble on his blindside sack of Texas backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert with 3:02 left Thursday night to help the top-ranked Crimson Tide hold on for a 37-21 victory in the BCS title game—a win that figured to be much easier when Alabama knocked out Colt McCoy early in the first quarter.
With McCoy on the sideline nursing a shoulder injury, the Tide rolled to a 24-6 lead at halftime, the final touchdown coming when lineman Marcell Dareus picked off a shovel pass and returned it 28 yards for the score late in the second quarter.
The second half figured to be a laugher with Gilbert in the game—a freshman who was Texas’ “quarterback of the future” but had thrown only 26 college passes.
The kid almost did it, though.
He threw two touchdown passes to All-American Jordan Shipley to trim the deficit to 24-21 with 6:15 left, and after an Alabama punt, he had the ball at the 7-yard line, 93 yards away from one of the most improbable comeback stories in the history of the game.
But after an Alabama holding penalty moved the ball to the 17, Gilbert dropped back to pass and got rocked by Anders, a senior who plays in the shadow of All-Americans Terrence Cody and Rolando McClain. The ball went flying and Courtney Upshaw recovered.
Three plays later, Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram surged into the end zone from the 1 for the 10-point lead. A few minutes later, after Gilbert’s third interception of the night, Trent Richardson scored his second touchdown to make it 37-21.
Then the party began. Glory came back to one of the country’s most storied programs, the football factory that Bear Bryant built, courtesy of Nick Saban, who resurrected this team in the short span of three seasons.
Source: YahooSports
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Ravens get another shot at Patriots
Last time this team met, New England won, 27-21, at home on Oct. 4. The Ravens were marching toward a potential game-winning drive when Mark Clayton dropped an easy first-down catch to effectively end the game. It served as Baltimore's first loss after a torrid start. Ravens starting LT Jared Gaither was carted off with a neck injury that appeared very serious at the time, and ended up keeping him out several weeks. The Patriots won despite being outrushed, allowing more yards and converting just four third downs. The loss was indicative of many for the Ravens this season, as they committed nine penalties for 85 yards.
In this coming playoff game, the Patriots hope rookie Julian Edelman can replace the departed Welker, who was lost to a knee injury on Sunday. But without Welker's underneath presence the Ravens can devote more double coverage to Randy Moss, a huge factor for their struggling secondary. Baltimore has the league's best run defense, and the Patriots are a pass-heavy team, so Tom Brady's attempts figure to be up.
Ravens should banged up Brady if they want to have a higher percentage of winning. Brady is playing through painful finger and rib injuries and is not very mobile to begin with. The Ravens need defensive tackles Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg to collapse the interior pocket, with Terrell Suggs cleaning things up off the edge. Suggs created a touchdown with a sack of Brady in the first meeting. If Brady has enough time to pick out second and third options in the pocket, Baltimore's weak corners will get burned and take penalties.
This game will be more about Ray Rice than Ray Lewis. Rice is elusive in space, is the fulcrum of the Baltimore's offense and is a matchup nightmare. He is young QB Joe Flacco's favorite option and will have to have a big game for Baltimore to win. New England's top defensive linemen, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork, have been banged up, and the Ravens could be in good position to win the game at the point of attack. Flacco has stumbled in the fourth quarter and in the red zone, and asking him to do too much might backfire.
Source: NFL.com
In this coming playoff game, the Patriots hope rookie Julian Edelman can replace the departed Welker, who was lost to a knee injury on Sunday. But without Welker's underneath presence the Ravens can devote more double coverage to Randy Moss, a huge factor for their struggling secondary. Baltimore has the league's best run defense, and the Patriots are a pass-heavy team, so Tom Brady's attempts figure to be up.
Ravens should banged up Brady if they want to have a higher percentage of winning. Brady is playing through painful finger and rib injuries and is not very mobile to begin with. The Ravens need defensive tackles Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg to collapse the interior pocket, with Terrell Suggs cleaning things up off the edge. Suggs created a touchdown with a sack of Brady in the first meeting. If Brady has enough time to pick out second and third options in the pocket, Baltimore's weak corners will get burned and take penalties.
This game will be more about Ray Rice than Ray Lewis. Rice is elusive in space, is the fulcrum of the Baltimore's offense and is a matchup nightmare. He is young QB Joe Flacco's favorite option and will have to have a big game for Baltimore to win. New England's top defensive linemen, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork, have been banged up, and the Ravens could be in good position to win the game at the point of attack. Flacco has stumbled in the fourth quarter and in the red zone, and asking him to do too much might backfire.
Source: NFL.com
Shanahan agrees to coach Redskins
Mike Shanahan agreed Tuesday night to become the Washington Redskins’ next coach, according to multiple reports.
The Denver Post reported on its Web site that Shanahan received a five-year deal from the Redskins, who fired Jim Zorn following a 4-12 season. Shanahan won two Super Bowls in 14 seasons with Denver but was fired a year ago after the Broncos missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
Shanahan will be Washington’s seventh coach since Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999. He is expected to be introduced at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Redskins general manager Bruce Allen was hired last month, but Shanahan will have the final authority on football decisions, according to ESPN.com.
Zorn went 12-20 over two seasons, but he lost 18 of his last 24 games after a 6-2 start in 2008. The Redskins struggled early despite a weak schedule this season and finished with their worst record since 1994.
While the Redskins awaited official word about their future coach, Clinton Portis(notes) went about rehashing the past—including his thoughts on quarterback Jason Campbell’s(notes) leadership skills.
During his weekly appearance on a local radio station, Portis talked about what it’s like to play for Shanahan—something the running back did for two seasons with the Broncos—and what it’s like to play with Campbell.
Asked on ESPN980 why Campbell was a team captain and he wasn’t, Portis replied: “I wonder the same thing. It’s no disrespect to Jason, but everybody in that locker room will tell you—you will never see Jason mad, you will never see Jason’s tempo change.”
Portis continued: “(He’s) going to give you everything (he’s) got. But as a leader … it was always, ‘Jason couldn’t take control of the huddle,’ or ‘He didn’t do this’ or ‘He didn’t do that.’ That wasn’t Jason’s character. … I think Jason, you can’t place so much on somebody who’s not ready for that situation. I think Jason has enough trouble in getting the plays in and worrying about this, compared to controlling the huddle.”
Portis told ESPN980 Campbell isn’t the type of player who would go to a coach and say, “‘Well, we need to do this or we need to do that,’ or ‘This is how the players want it.”’
Campbell responded by criticizing Portis’ work ethic, saying “there’s a reason guys don’t get selected as captains.”
“For those things to be said, questioning my character and questioning my leadership, I think that’s not the way to go, especially when you’re supposed to be a team guy,” Campbell told the Washington Post in a telephone interview. “Is that being a good teammate? If that’s the case, why is no one questioning my leadership and everyone is questioning his work ethic?”
It’s quite possible neither player will be with the Redskins next season.
Campbell can become a free agent. Portis missed the last half of the season after getting a concussion against Atlanta on Nov. 8, and he’ll turn 29 in September.
Portis also took exception to comments made by some teammates Monday about a lack of discipline this season and preferential treatment given to some players.
“Don’t wait for the season over to say that’s what the problem was. They could’ve came out and addressed those players and tried to stop it,” Portis told the radio station. “But you wait until the season’s over—and then it’s like a tell-all book came out.”
Although other players didn’t call out Portis specifically, he said before Campbell’s comments: “You would think out of everything that came out, probably the first name that come to mind would be me. I never missed curfew. I ain’t never left the hotel. I never did any of that. I think the only thing we did, there was a group of us that set up and played poker, and they broke that game up at 11 o’clock.”
As for Shanahan, Portis described the coach as “the perfect guy for the job” and a “straight shooter.”
“If you’re doing the stuff you’re supposed to be doing, you’re fine with him,” Portis told the radio station. “If you’re not, no matter how much you’re getting paid, he’s going to get you up out of there.”
Source: YahooSports
The Denver Post reported on its Web site that Shanahan received a five-year deal from the Redskins, who fired Jim Zorn following a 4-12 season. Shanahan won two Super Bowls in 14 seasons with Denver but was fired a year ago after the Broncos missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
Shanahan will be Washington’s seventh coach since Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999. He is expected to be introduced at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Redskins general manager Bruce Allen was hired last month, but Shanahan will have the final authority on football decisions, according to ESPN.com.
Zorn went 12-20 over two seasons, but he lost 18 of his last 24 games after a 6-2 start in 2008. The Redskins struggled early despite a weak schedule this season and finished with their worst record since 1994.
While the Redskins awaited official word about their future coach, Clinton Portis(notes) went about rehashing the past—including his thoughts on quarterback Jason Campbell’s(notes) leadership skills.
During his weekly appearance on a local radio station, Portis talked about what it’s like to play for Shanahan—something the running back did for two seasons with the Broncos—and what it’s like to play with Campbell.
Asked on ESPN980 why Campbell was a team captain and he wasn’t, Portis replied: “I wonder the same thing. It’s no disrespect to Jason, but everybody in that locker room will tell you—you will never see Jason mad, you will never see Jason’s tempo change.”
Portis continued: “(He’s) going to give you everything (he’s) got. But as a leader … it was always, ‘Jason couldn’t take control of the huddle,’ or ‘He didn’t do this’ or ‘He didn’t do that.’ That wasn’t Jason’s character. … I think Jason, you can’t place so much on somebody who’s not ready for that situation. I think Jason has enough trouble in getting the plays in and worrying about this, compared to controlling the huddle.”
Portis told ESPN980 Campbell isn’t the type of player who would go to a coach and say, “‘Well, we need to do this or we need to do that,’ or ‘This is how the players want it.”’
Campbell responded by criticizing Portis’ work ethic, saying “there’s a reason guys don’t get selected as captains.”
“For those things to be said, questioning my character and questioning my leadership, I think that’s not the way to go, especially when you’re supposed to be a team guy,” Campbell told the Washington Post in a telephone interview. “Is that being a good teammate? If that’s the case, why is no one questioning my leadership and everyone is questioning his work ethic?”
It’s quite possible neither player will be with the Redskins next season.
Campbell can become a free agent. Portis missed the last half of the season after getting a concussion against Atlanta on Nov. 8, and he’ll turn 29 in September.
Portis also took exception to comments made by some teammates Monday about a lack of discipline this season and preferential treatment given to some players.
“Don’t wait for the season over to say that’s what the problem was. They could’ve came out and addressed those players and tried to stop it,” Portis told the radio station. “But you wait until the season’s over—and then it’s like a tell-all book came out.”
Although other players didn’t call out Portis specifically, he said before Campbell’s comments: “You would think out of everything that came out, probably the first name that come to mind would be me. I never missed curfew. I ain’t never left the hotel. I never did any of that. I think the only thing we did, there was a group of us that set up and played poker, and they broke that game up at 11 o’clock.”
As for Shanahan, Portis described the coach as “the perfect guy for the job” and a “straight shooter.”
“If you’re doing the stuff you’re supposed to be doing, you’re fine with him,” Portis told the radio station. “If you’re not, no matter how much you’re getting paid, he’s going to get you up out of there.”
Source: YahooSports
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