NFL cracks down on hard hits

October 25th, 2010 admin

One of the biggest draws for NFL viewers these days and ever since the game was created for that matter has been the bone crushing hits and collisions you get to see every single Sunday and Monday on the gridiron.

No matter whether your football fan or not, most people love to see the hard hits that occur when the best athletes in the world go toe to toe and try to take each other’s head off on the football field. There no question that no one wants to see anyone get hurt or be taken off the field on a stretcher, but this game is as tough and rough as they come where hard hits are a part of the game.

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Obviously, there is limit to the brutality of this sport and some hits are just uncalled for as they either occur after the play has been called dead or the intention of the hit is to injure the other player. There are rules in place in the NFL to avoid these kinds of hits, but in Week 6 there were some big time hits put on players that resulted in concussions that quite literally knocked players out of the game.

This unfortunately forced the hand of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as he has taken another look at last week’s hard hits and given out fines to the players that gave them.

Not only did big-name players like the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson suffer a severe concussion that could keep him out some considerable time, but the defensive players that made these crushing hits were ultimately fined because the hits were considered to be against the rules.

One of the defensive players that were fined for their hard hits of Week 6 was former Defensive of the Year and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison. Not only was Harrison outraged by receiving a fine for something he has done 100s of times during his football career, but the new rules impacted him so much that he was seriously considering retirement as he believed this was no longer the game he had come to know and love playing.

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Personally, I am all for protecting players from suffering serious injuries that could have easily been avoided, but when it comes at the expense of changing the game and the passion players have for playing football, there is something wrong and it needs to be corrected or more players like James Harrison could end up calling it quits.

Obviously, with a big-name player like James Harrison speaking out about this and many more bound to follow and express their discontent with the league, the NFL will continue to receive some harsh criticism for these fines throughout the season and well in the offseason.

NFL Week 7: Eagles @ Titans

October 23rd, 2010 admin

Philadelphia Eagles @ Tennessee Titans Sun. Oct. 24th 1pm EST

The Philadelphia Eagles took a huge gamble before the NFL regular season by trading six-time Pro Bowl quarterback and the face of the franchise in Donovan McNabb to the division rival Washington Redskins. Even though this was a risky move to say the least for this perennial playoff team, head coach Andy Reid and company were confident it was the right one as they had quarterbacks Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick to take over under center.

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Just as it was anticipated, the Eagles made quarterback Kevin Kolb their starter and Michael Vick the backup, but after Kolb went down with a concussion against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, Vick was thrown into the mix and played much better than anticipated by showing signs of his former self.

Unfortunately, even though Michael Vick was driving opposing defenses crazy with his impressive play both with his arm and his quick feet, the former Atlanta Falcons superstar went down with a torn rib cartilage injury against the Washington Redskins and has had to sit for the last two weeks.

Even though this was thought to be devastating blow for the Philadelphia Eagles who were starting to look like the favorite to come out on top in the NFC East division, Kevin Kolb was able to step in and pick up the slack and lead his team to two straight wins.

In Week 7, it was thought that Michael Vick might be ready to return against the Tennessee Titans, but apparently he isn’t ready just yet and Kevin Kolb will get the nod for at least one more week as their supposed new starting quarterback continues to try and rehab from his injury.

A few weeks ago this probably would have been considered a bad thing for the Philadelphia Eagles as Kevin Kolb hadn’t really looked all that good under center, but with his impressive play over the last two weeks, the Eagles will have a solid chance to pull off the slight upset against the Titans.

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Personally, I believe the Philadelphia Eagles are the better football team on both sides of the ball, but without Michael Vick under center and wide receiver DeSean Jackson having to sit out with a severe concussion he sustained against the Atlanta Falcons last week, the Eagles will be going to ground game with running back LeSean McCoy leading the way.

With the Philadelphia Eagles offense being one dimensional this week, I would say that the Tennessee Titans defense could have a field day and dominate from start to finish. Even though both of these teams are more than capable of putting a lot of points on the board, I believe this will be an uncharacteristically low scoring affair in which the Titans should ultimately come out on top.

NFL Week 7: Bengals @ Falcons

October 22nd, 2010 admin

Cincinnati Bengals @ Atlanta Falcons Sun. Oct 24th 1pm EST

The Atlanta Falcons have been arguably one of the best teams in the NFL over the last two seasons, but despite being able to turn things around after drafting franchise quarterback Matt Ryan a couple of years ago, they have been unable to get the best of the NFC South division rival and defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. Marvin Lewis and Andy Reid – Dan Rooney and Bill Bidwill and Jerry Jones

With the Saints standing in their way of the NFC South division title, the Falcons have had to compete with the rest of the NFC Conference for the NFC Wildcard in order to get back into the playoffs, but this season they have been able to beat the Saints in their first meeting this season and take control of first place in their division.

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Obviously, the defending champs are still the favorites to win the division title once again, but I believe the torch may have been handed over to the Atlanta Falcons and they could quite possibly be on their way into the playoffs with a division title.

So even though the Atlanta Falcons could be on their way to a division title, they will still have their work cut out for them this season starting with the reigning AFC North division title champion Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.

Despite dominating their division last season and finally making it back into the playoffs with a healthy Carson Palmer under center, the Cincinnati Bengals have been pretty streaky this season with some impressive wins over teams like the Baltimore Ravens and the Carolina Panthers, they have lost against teams they should have beaten this season like the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in consecutive weeks.

There is no question the Bengals are a very talented football team, especially on the offensive side of the football, but they just haven’t been able to play consistently well and they will need to do so in order to get the best of the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7.

Unfortunately, both teams are coming off disappointing losses coming into this Week 7 matchup, but only one will be able to come out on top this time around.

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As of right now, the Atlanta Falcons are favored to win this game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7 with a -3.5 point spread, but even though I believe it is just a matter of time before Carson Palmer and company begin to turn things around, it won’t happen this weekend as the Falcons will almost certainly come out with the win.

This will most likely be a hard fought battle in the first half with two potent offenses going at it, but in the second half I see the Atlanta Falcons pulling away and sealing the deal was they will get their fifth win of the season and stay atop the NFC South division.

The Chargers fall to 2-4 after loss to St. Louis

October 21st, 2010 admin

Over the past decade or so, the San Diego Chargers have become one of the elite teams in the NFL and have absolutely dominated the AFC West division in the process by winning the division title five times in the last six years, but this season it appears that things have started to change in the AFC West division as Philip Rivers and company have really struggled in the first six weeks of the season while other teams in the division have started to improve.

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Fortunately, there is still plenty of football to be played in this NFL regular season and the San Diego Chargers will have opportunities to turn things around, but in Week 6 they failed to do just that as they weren’t able to get the best of the lowly St. Louis Rams who came out with the 20-17 victory.

Even though most people anticipated the St. Louis Rams to continue to be one of the worst teams in the NFL once again this season, rookie quarterback and number one overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft in Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford has proven to be worth what the Rams paid for him as he has improved his play with every passing week.

Obviously, the St. Louis Rams could still be a few years away from contending for a playoff spot in the NFC Conference, but they have had the ability to beat some very talented teams this season like the Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and the San Diego Chargers.

Ironically enough, just one week before the Rams took on the Chargers in Week 7, Sam Bradford and company really struggled against a team that hadn’t won one game all season long in the lowly Detroit Lions. Even though the Detroit Lions are a very talented team with a bright future, they weren’t considered a team that could put 44 points on an up and coming team like the St. Louis Rams.

Not only did the Detroit Lions shred the St. Louis Rams defense, but they couldn’t score on offense with the Rams accounting for just six points off field goals.

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In Week 6, it was thought that the San Diego Chargers had the perfect opportunity to get back on track by taking advantage of a team that just got pounded the week before, but the complete opposite as Philip Rivers and company just couldn’t play consistently well and the Chargers defense let Rams running back Steven Jackson rush for 109 yards and a touchdown.

Unfortunately, the Chargers lost their second consecutive game to an opponent they should have beaten and beaten with ease.

There is no question at this point in time that there are some serious problems that the San Diego Chargers have to address as they could be headed for some drastic changes in the near future if they continue to struggle.

Are the Jets the best team in the NFL?

October 20th, 2010 admin

The Jets own the best record in the NFL with five wins and one loss. Their only loss was way back in Week 1 where they couldn’t outlast the Ravens in a grind-it-out game.

Since then, the Jets have won five straight. Their defense hasn’t really surprised anyone because it’s expected to dominate. The Jets are sixth in the league in points allowed. They can keep any elite QB from taking over a game. And as displayed in the second half against the Patriots, future Hall-of-Fame receivers like Randy Moss can be shut down without top-tier corners.

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What’s refreshing about the Jets is their offense. New York is fourth in the NFL with most points scored per game with 26.5. Mark Sanchez has done a great job protecting the ball and making safe throws. He may not light up the boxscore but the kid doesn’t play beyond what’s expected of him. He has turned the ball over only three times this season.

Head coach Rex Ryan is comfortable with Sanchez not attempting 50 passes a game. He knows the Jets are built to play old-school, physical grind-out offense. It’s pretty easy to build your game like that with running backs Shone Greene and LaDanian Tomlinson on your team. While Greene has been great averaging 4.5 yards per carry, it’s Tomlinson that deserves recognition. Thought to be washed up by the Chargers and left for dead on the shore, LT caught on with the Jets and has been a great fit for them. Tomlinson is currently averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Virtually the same average he had in 2006 when he won the NFL MVP award.

With Sanchez’s continuing development, Greene and Tomlinson’s steady production, the Jets offense is one of the most versatile in the league.

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The Jets, shockingly, are mediocre against the pass. The Lions, Rams and Browns give up fewer yards to opponents. But numbers are misleading Mr. John Hollinger. Darrelle Revis’ presence in the secondary and his ability to cover receivers single handedly allow the Jets to blitz more liberally with safeties. Opponents rather rush the ball than take chances in the air.

With all that said, are the Jets the best right now?

It would be unfair to the Steelers to name them so. But it would be hard to argue against the reasons given above.

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