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Maurice Jones-Drew is inarguably the greatest running back in the brief history of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jones-Drew retired this past March after nine seasons in the NFL. In eight years with the Jags and then spending last season with the Oakland Raiders he compiled career totals of 8,167 rushing yards and 81 total touchdowns.
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I have a friend, Jake Haas, whose motto throughout college was, “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” Mr. Haas was not so much referring to his academic career, but to the countless drinking/video games that we partook in during our time receiving a higher education.
Much like in Mario Kart (N64 is THE only version), cheaters have a better chance of winning and if the short cut doesn’t work, you can always use another shortcut later in the race. Obviously, Tom Brady and the Patriots have played a couple of races on the Mario Kart circuit.
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is emerging as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. After avoiding a sophomore slump with a stellar second season, Luck entered the NFL’s Most Valuable Player discussion in 2014. Although his yardage total dipped from 4,374 yards to 3,822 from year one to year two, something more important was also cut in half:
Luck threw just nine interceptions in 2013, as opposed to 18 in 2012. in 2014, his yardage increased to 4,761, and he’s thrown 40 TD passes to just 16 interceptions. Again Luck’s INT decreased.
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The New York Jets lackluster play is more frustrating than normal because this team has shown that they have talent. Behind all of the penalties, turnovers, and play calls that will make your head spin is a team that has managed to keep every game close. This is a team that was actually beating up on the Green Bay Packers 21-3 at one point.
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Ever since Aaron Rodgers took over for Brett Favre as the Packers’ starting quarterback in 2008, Green Bay has been one of the most successful franchises in the NFL—if not the most successful. With six straight playoff appearances and counting, the Packers are tied with the New England Patriots for longest active streak of making the postseason.
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The Chicago Bears drafted rookie defensive tackles Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton to help add youth to an aging defensive line. Ferguson is more of a running game clogger and Sutton a pass rush specialist. Against the New York Jets this past Monday, Sutton earned extended snaps with the injury to Jeremiah Ratliff and showed a lot of promise. In limited snaps, Ferguson showed his ability to use size and above average hand work to get to the quarterback.
The images below come from NFL Game Rewind’s ‘All-22,’ which offers fans the ability to see what the coaches see for a nominal fee. Sutton is number 93 and Ferguson is number 95. [Read more…]
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After appearing to send the Patriots to overtime while on the road with a game-tying touchdown, the play was called back for holding. The next play was what any Raiders game-ending interception would be like- bobbled off of their own receivers’ hands and into the mitts of a 325 pound defensive tackle.
After Charles Woodson noted that his new team “sucks” after losing to the Texans, he probably couldn’t muster any change on those emotions after their defense held Tom Brady in check all day. It’s a little early for Woodson to panic, but maybe London Fletcher was on to something before the season started when he called out Woodson for going to Oakland to receive one last pay day. [Read more…]
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It seems early to already be down to just one undefeated team in the AFC, but the Bengals are playing like they could maintain that storyline well into November.
They’re led by a defense who is hungry for more. Aside from the Ravens making a game of it late during the fourth quarter, the Bengals have been almost untouchable. That defense is suffocating opposing quarterbacks and running attacks; while the offense continues to play simple, efficient football.
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Brandon Marshall has done so much to rehab his image and rehab as a human being. Today erased all of that.
Marshall decided to speak on the current state of the NFL and talk about a few issues concerning him. A recent piece on ESPN’s “E:60” and Gloria Allred’s Wednesday press conference empowered the Chicago Bears wide receiver to speak Thursday afternoon.
That decision was a mistake.
What could have been a perfect moment to use his rehabilitation into a functioning member of the NFL after poor life choices turned into a session of victim-blaming and ranting. Marshall was openly bashing ESPN even though he does a weekly radio show on their Chicago affiliate, WMVP-AM 1000. [Read more…]
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The NFL has had a rough couple weeks; to say the least. Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and league commissioner Roger Goodell have exposed the NFL as a broken and flawed organization that depended so much on its image that it overlooked the ugliness that was inside the whole time.
There is a good chance that the aforementioned players and commish will never set foot on a football field or appear in public representing the NFL ever again. Rice, Peterson and Goodell are the sacrificial lambs for a league that has engaged in gross malfeasance for a prolonged period of time.
The league office has hidden brain damage inducing concussions from its players while extorting tens of millions of dollars from a well meaning American public in the name of breast cancer research.
Pink jerseys, ladies, helped finance a few second home mortgages in the league’s executive offices. [Read more…]
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This NY Jets defense contains arguably Rex Ryan’s best pass rush since he came to New York in 2009.
Through the years, he’s been able to call defensive gems against the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. He did so against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers back in 2010, but the offense faltered and the Jets were shutout 9-0. Rodgers went just 15 of 34 for 74 yards and 0 touchdowns in that one.
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An interesting preseason for the Chicago Bears has ended and the wait for meaningful football is finally over.
At noon on Sunday, the Bears open up their 2014-15 NFL campaign by welcoming the Buffalo Bills to Soldier Field. The Bills enter the season with as many issues and concerns as Chicago, meaning that this game may be a closer matchup than it appears.
The main objective in football is to outscore your opponent. Last I checked the Chicago Bears can score. The 2013-14 version finished tied for second with the New England Patriots averaging 27.8 points per game. Only Denver’s astounding 37.9 ppg topped Chicago’s balanced attack. Buffalo averaged 21.2 points per game if you were wondering. [Read more…]
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