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There’s PLENTY of news that came with this last weekend, being the first few days of uncapped NFL free agency, but I have a few combine thoughts I would like to discuss. I’m sorry it’s belated, but bear with me. Please. ; He fractured HIS FACE, and played two weeks later with screws in there. I just have to give it up for this guy. But this finally (and by finally I mean since the inception of the Ravens) gives the Ravens a true number one receiver for the new franchise quarterback, Joe Flacco. I think that’s all I am going to cover this week. I have a shit ton of homework and studying that I have to pretend that I am doing, and have three finals over two days next week. Next week’s column will quickly touch on the actions of the last seven days in the NFL, as well as me talking on something random in my football fandom history. To be determined…
Archive for March, 2010
>Tuesday Lunch: So THAT Happened…
Posted: March 9, 2010 in nflTags: combine, free agency, the sack lunch, will robinson
>Monday Lunch: Landon YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!
Posted: March 8, 2010 in UncategorizedTags: beasley, cherundolo, clark, evan ream, everton, jozy altidore, landon donovan, rangers, run dmb, the sack lunch, usmnt
> Today’s post will be a shorter one because I have to study for my Humanities test tomorrow……………………………..Wow I couldn’t even type that with a straight face. Insert your best segue way here.
Weekend Recap:
DaMarcus Beasley starts and plays 64 minutes and Maurice Edu plays the last 26 in a 3-1 Rangers win over the St. Mirren Andy Dormans. It is great to see both of them play; Rangers are still 10 points clear of Celtic with a game in hand. I set my alarm to 7:00am on Saturday to wake up and watch this one. When my alarm woke me up, I remembered that I could either watch Rangers play a team that wasn’t Celtic or go back to sleep. Needless to say I came to my senses and went back to sleep. The SPL is that boring.
Herculez Gomez scored in the 4th straight game for Puebla, in a 4-1 loss against Pumas. I was actually impressed to hear this until I watched the goal. Every time someone talks about how the Mexican league is better than MLS; you should just show him this clip. I’m fairly sure that if anyone on the field were taller than 5 feet they could easily have gotten the ball. I mean do they even try in Mexico? Please do not call this man up. He is terrible.
Now about Jozy. What was Phil Brown doing not starting the young man? Zaki never looked like doing anything and neither did most of the other Hull players either. It was only once they brought Jozy on that they started getting any real possession. I don’t know what Jozy has to do to get playing time because no one on Hull is scoring but at least he is keeping possession. I must commend Altidore’s maturity on this by not sulking or pouting or speaking out against his coach a la Freddy Adu. Hopefully he can bag a few more before the season is over and perhaps earn a move to a more talented side.
Unfortunately that is all from me for today. Look for a longer article on Thursday about God knows what (with Stuart Holden out I have nothing to talk about) and my top 10 favorite USMNT goals of all time with video (hopefully).
>Friday Lunch Special: Matt talks about the USA/Netherlands Friendly
Posted: March 5, 2010 in UncategorizedTags: friday, friendly, matt ream, netherlands, the sack lunch, usa, usmnt
>Positives:
1. The play of Stuart Holden until leaving the game at the half-hour mark. Holden played sharp passes, was consistently open, and even was solid on the defensive side, helping Jonathan Spector contain Dutch wingers Elia and Robben. After being on the receiving end of a dangerous studs-up tackle by Nigel De Jong, Holden was substituted. I really think that in a higher stakes game, De Jong would have been sent off. Good to see my man Beasley get some time, though.
2. Carlos Bocanegra’s goal. Mr. Black Mouth always seems to score off of set plays for the US. This goal was off of a great ball by Run DMB himself. ‘Los beat his marker and ghosted in at the far post to out-jump the keeper and win the header. While the US rarely dominates the stat sheet against a high ranking opponent, set plays remain a strong suit. With players like Oguchi Onyewu, Bocanegra, and Jon Bornstein, we should be good for at least a goal per game on a set piece. The only missing part in the equation would be the quality of service. Maybe Beasley makes the WC squad just on the merit of his service on set plays?
3. The Dutch mastery of the game. No, this is not a positive note of the US’ game, at least not really. But it should serve as an example to the US of how Dutch players are developed. While the Dutch may not be as fluid as their days of total football, their combination play and technical abilities are second only to maybe the Spanish. The US would do well to observe and attempt to replicate the same player development (modern US youth soccer training has improved by leaps and bounds since players on the national team went through the same system; in ten years perhaps we’ll see the results). That development is the reason that the US barely touched the ball.
Negatives:
1. The United States’ inability to make dangerous plays in their attacking third. The US, while being able to possess the ball for short periods of time in the first half, couldn’t seem to find room to operate in the hole between the Netherlands’ back line and midfield. In contrast, Wesley Sniejder found himself with space created by intelligent movement from the Dutch forwards. See #3 above for more. The second half was even worse for the US in terms of possession, as they had very little.
2. The lack of speed in the back for the US. Although the Netherlands boast perhaps the quickest (physically and technically) wingers in the world, I was still upset to see the US getting beaten on the flanks, especially in the first half. I think Steve Cherundolo, when healthy, is the best option at fullback to neutralize smaller, speedier wingers and midfielders.
3. Torres’ ability to cope with the physical nature of the game. While I do like the composure Torres brings to the midfield, I often question how much influence he’ll have in the future against opposition with larger, more physical midfielders. Perhaps Bradley will find space for him on the flank, although he doesn’t possess much speed either. Donovan and Dempsey, when healthy, are a lock on the outside midfield. Holden will likely see more time there as well.
Other noteworthy items:
- Either Wesley Sniejder is a good actor or the referee doesn’t understand the laws of physics. If a person is being tugged backward, they will fall backward. Not forward. And not five minutes after the play. The Dutch were lucky to get that call. Prior to that, they had failed to really challenge Tim Howard. I will admit that the referee made up for it with a no-call on a clear handball by Jonathan Bornstein later on in the first half.
- Landon Donovan still has the ability to not show up for games. Although he has had pretty consistent play for Everton, it seems as if he still can earn the nickname “Landy Cakes”.
- Out of all of the national teams in group C, the US had the most difficult friendly opponent (gotta love the oxymoron) in the Netherlands (3) as England played Egypt (17), Slovenia played Qatar (92), and Algeria played Serbia (13).
- I was disappointed to find out that Frank Simek was not on the game day roster as I was intrigued to see him play for the US for the first time in three years.
- John Harkes is both boring and annoying.
- Tim Howard. Not that he had a great game or anything, but there was little else that stood out to me. He is always capable of making some amazing saves when needed. The two goals were unlucky – no one expects a goalkeeper to stop a penalty every time and a deflection is just unfortunate.
- Jozy is a beast. He held the ball well and maybe should have scored in stoppage time on a blast of a shot.
That’s all for me today. Next time I will (hopefully) discuss the MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions.
>Thursday Lunch: The Dutch Roll
Posted: March 4, 2010 in UncategorizedTags: evan ream, friendly, international, netherlands, the sack lunch, thursday, usmnt
> Interesting day of Internationals yesterday, as you know by now, yesterday was the last International date before teams must submit their final rosters for the World Cup. Before I get to what happened in Amsterdam, I want to talk about the other games first.
Argentina 1 Germany 0:
Gonzalo Higuian did the damage for Argentina right before half time, scoring his 2nd international goal on a defensive mix up by the Germans. For me this German side doesn’t seem as strong as the one in years past. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them not win their group and possibly exit at the round of 16. That being said, this is a great win for Argentina.
Serbia 3 Algeria 0:
I don’t know much about the details of this game, but I would rate Serbia slightly lower then I rate USA so a 3-0 win in the World Cup isn’t out of the question.
England 3 Egypt 1:
Interesting match at Wembley as Egypt led going into half. Peter Crouch was the hero of the day as he got 2 goals. Sean Wright-Phillips made his case for being included in the squad as well, getting a goal and setting up both of Peter Crouch’s goals. While I only saw highlights for this one, it looked to me as if England’s play was suspect. Better goalkeeping surely could have prevented all three goals, especially Wright-Phillips. Furthermore Peter Crouch’s second goal was blatantly offside. I’m not complaining here I just don’t see any reason for English fans to be excited about this one.
Slovenia 4 Qatar 1:
Meh. This really doesn’t mean anything.
Spain 2 France 0:
This is telling in that the game was in Paris and France still got their asses handed to them. I don’t think the French will do that well this summer. Spain on the other hand did great with David Villa and Sergio Ramos getting the goals. It is really telling as to how good Spain is that when they beat France away no one reacts like it was ever going to not happen.
Netherlands 2 USA 1:
Before I actually recap the match I just want to spend a few words “bitching” about the things I hate about soccer right now. How was Nigel De Jong allowed to stay on the field after his tackle on Stuart Holden? Not only was his studs up tackle late and put Holden on the mend (fractured fibula, but was only thought to be a bruised shin during game time), but this game was a FRIENDLY. Tackles like this have no business in regular competitive games, but a friendly? I mean really? I don’t know too much about De Jong, but this in addition to his dive when Beasley was through on goal were classless acts that I would only expect from a certain rival south of the border. I really can’t express how upset I am about this tackle. I hope Stu isn’t out any significant amount of time. Video of the incident below.
For anyone who watched this game, the Dutch clearly dominated, but I thought USA did a good job with a few things. First USA kept the Netherlands from creating many clear chances. Eljero Elia’s chance right after the break was the only clear cut chance that USA gave up and for that I would like to commend them.
Jay DeMerit was great in central defense. He won almost every single ball that came his way and even drew a few fouls. This being said, he also showed his greatest weakness. When DeMerit got even a hint of pressure he just booted the ball up field as far as he could. Maybe this is fine for the English Championship but USA was already struggling for possession. This is something Oguchi Onyewu helps bring to the table when he is healthy.
I thought the reffing was positively horrendous. I’m not talking about the penalty (more on that later), but he clearly missed a few key calls. In my opinion De Jong should have been sent off and the ref called far too many “ticky tac” calls. Every time Michael Bradley got within five feet of an opposing player his whistle would blow. Considering the horrible calls there have been in recent international tournaments (Bradley red card, Clark red card, Egypt hand ball, Onyewu PK, Pope red card, Fring’s hand ball) this is something that USA should have to get used to so it was good that it happened in a friendly as well.
Landon Donovan looked like someone who had just gotten over the flu…….oh wait! There will be better days from Donovan, but he definitely mailed this one in a la Eddie Johnson 06-present.
Speaking of BJ (EJ) I hope he never gets another call for USA. He was one of the worst players on the field.
USA really picked up their play in the last 10 minutes with DaMarcus Beasley leading the way. I really thought USA was going to tie it at the end. This team has tremendous fight; never a bad thing for the World Cup.
The last thing I want to bitch about really isn’t about the game at all. I’m not sure what feed ESPN was using considering the KNVB logo kept flashing on the screen, but please stop replaying pointless things! There were at least five times where ESPN was showing the twelfth replay on an offside when live game action was happening. After all these years do you really not know how to cover soccer?
Men of the Match (I’m only putting one Dutch player in here because that’s what I want to do and it’s my blog):
4. Wesley Sneijder – He was great in keeping possession and creating chances for the Dutch. Clearly there man of the match; he acted as a true number 10. He would have rated higher, but he is having a bout with borninthewrongcountryitis.
3. Carlos Bocanegra – What can I say? He is always there when we need him. Perhaps he is a few years past his prime, but Captain Blackmouth didn’t fail to deliver. He needs one more goal to tie the USA International record for goals by a defender (Marcelo Balboa has 13).
2. Michael Bradley – Always strong in the tackle; Bradley had his best offensive game in a while. He combined well with others and really showed what he can do when he plays with someone who actually defends (I’m saying he was better when Torres came out; coincidence?). Bradley showed once again that he belongs and he will play the whole tournament until he gets his token red card in the semifinals.
1. DaMarcus Beasley – Finally, he has been found. Note to milk companies: you can now take Run DMB off of the side of your cartons; he is no longer a missing person. Beasley had his best game in years for USA. I really think he solidified his place in the roster with this showing. Now it will just be up to him to prove that he belongs in the first 11.
Disappointments:
Jonathan Bornstein – Was it a penalty? Maybe yes. Maybe no. My whole point to this is that in the world cup our players can’t put themselves in situations for the ref to even think about pointing to the spot. I still say he makes the roster, but there is now way he is playing against England. I would bet my middle nut on it.
Landon Donovan – See game recap section. Fortunately Landon gets a pass based on the 52398723486238462130324623497 games he has saved the USMNT
Eddie Johnson – At least I don’t have to stop referring to him as BJ.
Now as promised I leave you with my Thursday top ten list. This week, the top 10 reasons to like the New York Red Bulls.
>Wednesday Lunch: Spread ‘Em
Posted: March 3, 2010 in ncaafbTags: dylan davis, spread, the sack lunch, vick, wednesday
> Welcome to Wednesday lunch, I’m Dylan back with the latest and greatest college football trends and news. I’m gonna throw out a list of teams and see if you can figure out what they have in common:
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Boise State
6. TCU
8. Cincinnati
9. Penn State
11. Oregon
12. BYU
18. Utah
19. Miami (FL)
21. Texas Tech
23. Central Michigan
25. West Virginia
Yes, all of these teams finished in the top 25 this past year. Yes, all of these teams won at least 9 games. Yes, all of these teams employed shitty coaches (oh wait; only Brian Kelly and Mike Leach defecated on their former teams). But what truly unites all of these teams is one overarching principle: the spread offense.
Football is a very fundamental game at its core. Whoever scores the most points wins. To score points you have to get the ball into the end zone for a touchdown or through the uprights for a field goal. To get touchdowns and field goals you have to move the ball down the field. Sounds pretty simple right? It is, until you remember that there are 11 snarling, nasty, muscular, athletic freaks trying to stop you from reaching your goal. That’s where offensive game planning comes in. From the time the forward pass was legalized back when this guy was a freshman in college until the present day, coaches have come up with plenty of different offensive ideas to outsmart defenses and pile up the points. The veer, or option, was a huge trend starting in the late 1960’s until Butch Davis, who was the defensive line coach for Miami in the late 80’s and early 90’s decided it would be a good idea to put lots of huge fast guys on defense. Really? It took more than 20 years to figure that out? No one thought of that? To be fair, Miami had access to the some of the best athletes in the country, but you’d think that would be the first thing coaches would have thought of.
Many coaches since then have tried to bring pro style offense to the college ranks with varying amounts of success. Pete Carroll had plenty of weapons during his time at USC (Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Lendale White, Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith 2.0, etc…) and he utilized the pro-style offense to perfection in capturing 7 straight conference championships and a couple national crowns too. Bill Callahan also brought a pro-style offense to the college ranks when he coached Nebraska, but that didn’t work out so well as he went 27-22 in 4 years. Did the Cornuhuskers do any research at all before they hired him? Did they realize that he had just been fired as head coach of the Raiders? This joke is almost too easy to make, so I’ll let you do it. Go ahead; insert your own Raider joke here.
Waiting…
Waiting…
Hahahaha, that was a good one!
Anyways… moving on. As you can see, there were varying degrees of success with the pro-style offense in the college ranks, and a lot of it depended on the talent surrounding the system. A lot of coaches across the country were trying to figure out how to better utilize the talent they recruited. There are varying opinions as to who actually thought of this next idea, so I’ll skip that part, but the thinking went something like this for a few coaches: I have a lot of great athletes that I can play at the same time. If I can match these athletes up in space one-on-one they can make plays with there athleticism. If they have open field they can run really fast and far and score touchdowns. If they do that we will win and I can jump to a bigger school for more money (I didn’t say this is exactly what they were thinking, but it doesn’t sound that far off, does it?). Out of these thoughts came some early version of the spread offense. The point of the spread offense is to space your playmakers evenly across the field to give them space to make plays with the ball. Think of it this way, if you have Percy Harvin would you rather have him run straight ahead into the line and try to pick up a few yards, or would you put him out in space and try to make one or two guys miss to get lots of yards? Exactly. As the spread evolved coaches realized that there were a couple ways to do things. We’re gonna break this down using a few well known teams as examples.
The Texas Tech method: Pass. Pass. Pass some more. This was Mike Leach’s philosophy during his time at Texas Tech. He spread his wide receivers out and filled the air with footballs. Even though the defense knew that the pass was coming, they didn’t know exactly when or where, so this offense was effective.
The West Virginia method: I know that Michigan now employs Rich Rodriguez, but he actually had success at West Virginia with this offense, and he used his time more wisely too. This offense utilizes the run game, and more specifically, the option. Remember the veer I talked about earlier? West Virginia took that offense, put the Quarterback in shotgun, and spread the offensive lineman. This made more space between the defenders and let Pat White, Steve Slaton, and Noel Devine run roughshod over opposing defenses.
The Missouri method: This offense takes principles form many different places. They pass like Texas Tech. They run kind of like West Virginia. If executed properly with the right mix of weapons, this is the most dangerous type of offense because now the defense not only has no idea where the ball is going, they also have no idea if a run or a pass is coming.
The Florida method: This is nearly the same as the West Virginia offense in that they both use option principles, but Florida has had a few distinct differences over the past few years, Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow. Florida runs many option plays, but usually has more than two options. The Quarterback can run, give to the tailback, pitch to the tight end, throw it, etc… What makes them different is that use quarterback dives and wide receiver running plays so much more than any other team.
Every spread offense is different in its own special way and the potency of the attack is usually predicated on the effectiveness of the quarterback distributing the ball. That’s why teams that Pat White, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford quarterbacked were hugely successful. Defenses are already coming up with defenses focused around stopping the spread and we may soon be moving to a new trend in offenses. Who knows, this could be the future of football in America. Until that time comes, just sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
As promised last week, I have a column gimmick for all of the people who have realized that they care nothing about what I’m saying and only want quick entertainment. In true gimmick fashion, I have taken someone else’s idea, twisted it around slightly, and called it revolutionary. My colleague Evan Ream has a weekly top 10 list about soccer. I am now unveiling my top 5 list. That’s right, Top 5. Not only is my list more exclusive than his, therefore making it better, I will only be unveiling one part of the list each week. Not only does this draw out the suspense, it makes me have to think of fewer ideas. College football is an ever changing sport that is difficult to appreciate if you do not witness the moments, or hear about them soon after. That is why all of my lists will include events, players, and teams from my lifetime. Any happening from the past 20 years is fair game, and of course, these lists are totally subjective, since this is a blog.
My first list will be of the 5 most exciting players of my lifetime. Since offense is naturally more fun for me to watch than defense, this list will include only offensive players (sorry Charles Woodson, Eric Berry, and Ndamukong Suh).
5. Michael Vick- Before he was a dog fighter or any thing like that (again, insert way to easy Michael Vick dog-fighting joke here) Michael was an electrifying playmaker for the Virginia Tech Hokies. One of my first college football watching memories that is still clear is watching Vick dance and juke through Florida State’s defense in the 2000 Sugar Bowl. He was always an iffy passer but his weaving runs were magical and I will always remember the way he could bring a crowd to its feet and jump-start an entire offense with one play.
That’s all the time we have for today’s lunch, but join me next week for more college football insight and a dandy double top 5 entry.
>Tuesday Lunch: The NFC is SO Hot Right Now, SO HOT
Posted: March 2, 2010 in nflTags: NFC, the sack lunch, will robinson
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((couldn’t find the actual clip on Youtube, sorry))
Hey guys, sorry for the extremely late post today. I’ve had internet and computer problems the last day or so, so I won’t delay the column. Just like I promised last week, here are the young stars for the NFC:
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie – DRC has become one of the best and most important members in the Arizona secondaries, which is quickly becoming one of the best in the league. He crept out draft boards after his cousin, Antonio Cromartie, had one of the better seasons stats-wise for a corner, and also after running a blazing time in the 40 (4.29). In his first two years, he’s recorded ten interceptions, which is as good as Champ Bailey’s first two years, and only one less interception than the total in Nnamdi Asomugha’s career. He will be their star corner and an elite player in the league for years.
San Francisco 49ers
Patrick Willis – This was another one of those no brainer picks. Willis has taken the NFL by storm since the Niners drafted him in 2007, and is now indisputably the best middle linebacker in the league. He is just a machine between the numbers, with speed usually possessed by outside backers. My friend also had the chance to attend the Niners against the Rams in October, and told me that his hits sounded significantly louder in person. Just insane. While the Niners are not my favorite team, I’m lucky to live in the greater San Francisco area to watch this guy play every Sunday.
Seattle Seahawks
John Carlson – Despite being stuck with an atrocious offense last year, Carlson did put up average numbers for a tight end. He did record seven touchdowns and accumulated 574 yards. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but he just hasn’t had the opportunities that other quality tight ends have had. If/when Pete Carroll pulls the trigger and gets a legitimate quarterback, his numbers will still float around the average level. Believe me, though: he will eventually be able to keep up with the Antonio Gates’ and Dallas Clark’s. Eventually.
St. Louis Rams
James Laurinaitis – What a team in terrible disarray. They won one game last year. One! They were so hard to watch; it looked like Alabama could have beaten them. The second round tackle machine out of Ohio State though, was a bright spot for the team. In his debut season, he recorded 120 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions. If the Rams decide to draft Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh, their defense will be headed towards a very solid direction for their future. I hope that headman Steve Spagnuolo will utilize Laurinaitis more next year.
NFC North
Chicago Bears
Greg Olsen – Olsen has produced more and more since coming into the league, and with the Jay Cutler trade occurring, he should compile more stats. He grabbed eight touchdowns last year, along with more catches and more yards. Despite having primadonna at quarterback (don’t worry, I’m not bitter), he is sure an upgrade from Kyle Orton’s or Rex Grossman’s noodle arms.
Detroit Lions
Matthew Stafford – This guy was the first pick of the draft last year, and despite injuries and playing in Detroit, he did have some bright spots. That last play against Cleveland where he avoided team doctors, ran back on the field, and threw the game winning touchdown. Sure, he threw a ton of picks, but he showed amazing toughness and poise despite throwing passes to the other team.
Green Bay Packers
Clay Matthews – After Aaron Kampman went down last year, people thought the Green Bay defense was done. With a combination of skilled veterans (Charles Woodson, defensive player of the year) and this rookie rusher, their defense was arguably the best in the NFL. Matthews recorded ten sacks in his freshman year, including two a piece on Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger. He could have been defensive rookie of the year, I’d say I would have slightly preferred his year to Brian Cushing’s (both were great though). Regardless, if Green Bay cannot keep Aaron Kampman, they will have a legitimate pass rushing threat regardless. The two of them would be a killer bookend combo.
Minnesota Vikings
Adrian Peterson – He may have one of the worst cases of fumblitis in recent memories, but he is currently the best rusher in the league. Last year, number four from Southern Mississippi hijacked the offense and turned it into a passing one, which led to a slump for “All Day.” Then again, an “off year” of 1383 yards and 18 touchdowns could be a career year for most players. His yards per carry have slowly been declining, but he still ran at a good 4.4 yards per carry last season, bringing him to 4.9 yards/carry in his career. Hall of Famer Jim Brown has a career mark of 5.2. AP is scarily close to that mark, and may not reach it. However, anything above a 4.5 is considered great, and Peterson will only get better. He will have his best season next year.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
Miles Austin – I remember watching the Denver-Dallas game, and seeing Tony Romo ignoring an open Miles Austin in the back of the end zone. Sure, he missed a couple of open balls on the drive, but he was open! I would guarantee if this game was played around week ten, Denver would have chalked up another loss. Austin had his coming out party against Kansas City the next week, going for a ten catch, 250 yard and two touchdown performance. The week after, against Atlanta, he had six catches, 171 yards and another two touchdowns. I remember seeing an ESPN stat that in those two games, Austin had almost as many yards as Roy Williams did in his career with the Cowboys. Just insane. He has really come out and shown that he is a legitimate threat for the Cowboys, and makes their offense more dangerous.
New York Giants
Steve Smith 2.0 – There was a very real concern that the New York passing offense would crumple after the departure of Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress, but the very young receiving corps stepped up. Smith was the most impressive of the bunch. Smith had his first 100 catch, 1000 yard season in his first year as the true number one. People have stopped referring to him as the OTHER Steve Smith (or at least I have), due to Carolina’s dropping off last year. I expect to Smith to have another solid year, but expect more contribution from Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden.
Philadelphia Eagles
DeSean Jackson – DeSean Jackson is quickly becoming the most electrifying player in football. In almost every game, he had a touchdown for 50 yards or more. He is also the premier player in the Eagles special teams’ squad. He averaged almost 19 yards per catch last year! That is unbelievably good. His incendiary speed burns most opposing corners, allowing for Donovan McNabb to throw up the long ball to him. Two pieces of news that will make Jackson produce more: 1) the Eagles hired special teams guru Bobby April to help focus in on Jackson’s return game and 2) the Eagles cut longtime running back and playmaker Brian Westbrook. This will open up the offense to Jackson, and second year running back LeSean McCoy.
Washington Redskins
Brian Orakpo – If you ever have the chance to talk to Dylan Davis, my colleague and friend, ask him how angry I was when the Broncos passed up Orakpo for Knowshon Moreno last year. I was so excited that he was skipped by Buffalo, and declared that there was NO WAY they would pass on Orakpo. Well, needless to say, I was wrong. Orakpo led rookies last year with 11 sacks recorded after being thrust in to the fire that is the Redskins defense. The defense did have a very solid year last year, but did not translate into many wins. Orakpo is a fierce pass rusher, and has made the adjustment to the NFL very well. A Haynesworth/Orakpo combo, along with LaRon Landry in the secondary, will make for a very good ‘skins defense.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan – Gentlemen and gentlemen (if you are a female non-relative who reads this, I will change this line), your next big star in the NFL. Ryan was bit by the injury bug last year, but he had a phenomenal rookie year. He led the last place Falcons to an 11-5 record, and into the Wildcard round of the playoffs. Hell, his first career pass was a 62 yard touchdown pass. His GM, Thomas Dimitroff, added future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzales to the roster last year, to add another weapon, and it seemed to work. In two less games played, Ryan completed six more touchdowns and only three more interceptions. In three to four years, Ryan will be full steam blowing ahead in his career, hitting the magical age of 27-28, which seems to be the beginning of a QBs prime. He’s already made the city of Atlanta forget about the whole Mike Vick debacle.
Carolina Panthers
Jonathan Stewart – Coming out of Oregon, Stewart was a huge risk. There were questions whether or not he could play healthily in the wear and tear league, and if his turf toe was fully healed. There was controversy on draft day when Carolina picked him 13th, but the critics have quieted. Stewart has been excellent running in tandem with DeAngelo Williams. In his first two years, Stewart has knocked over defenders for 20 touchdowns, with a Petersonesque 4.9 yards per carry. After Williams got hurt, and Delhomme threw his 291st interception of the year, Stewart became the workhouse they needed. Williams was above average last year and was hurt, so I’d hope the roles at RB switch next year for Carolina.
New Orleans Saints
Tracy Porter – The Super Bowl champs worked through their regular season on their explosive weapons and plethora of weapons, but if it were not for the brilliant play of Darren Sharper, Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter, the Saints would have been home two weeks early. Porter made the jump on the Vikings QB at the end of regulation to take the game to overtime, and made the clutch jump on Reggie Wayne’s route to seal the deal during the Big Game. He only had four interceptions and two force fumbles in the regular season, but had two interceptions off of future Hall of Famers, and a forced fumble. The trio of Porter, Greer and Randall Gay will be able to help the Saints next year on their repeat campaign.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Clifton Smith – Man oh man is this roster picked over. They have two young quarterbacks who couldn’t seem to do anything last year despite two quality targets (Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant), and a defense that is lacking veteran leadership. I almost picked Aqib Talib, who had five picks last year, but I chose Smith. He was an undrafted free agent coming out of Fresno State, but made an immediate impact in the Bucs’ return game. Hopefully Tampa Bay adds some more quality players, but until then, Smith is a small beacon of hope for them.
That’s all for this week, sorry I didn’t talk about the combine. I’ll hit that and the beginning of free agency next time. Until then, stay classy Planet Earth.
>Monday Lunch: Rock Me Amadeus
Posted: March 1, 2010 in UncategorizedTags: clark, edu, evan ream, friendly, holden, landon donovan, netherlands, usmnt
> You may be asking yourself what this title has to do with anything that has happened recently in soccer. And you would be right to ask; I will say nothing more.
Weekend Thoughts:
Stuart Holden got his second start for Bolton and has continued his fine performance with another 90-minute game in a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton. Holden played great and was deservedly among the discussions for man of the match at the end of the game ultimately losing out to Zat Knight. The Iceman was great in keeping possession and made a few key tackles in the defensive third. It should also be noted that he was starting his second game in the central midfield; something that many questioned if he could do at this high of a level. Holden quite honestly looks fantastic even earning rave reviews from the Bolton message boards; one fan recalling, “One bloke sat behind me was referring to Holden when he uttered, ‘That lad is too good for our team!’” I had to have a sly chuckle to myself.” This is great news for USA fans as an EPL hardened Stu will be a great asset to have in South Africa.
I was thinking about Holden’s deal and if he keeps playing well, since his contract runs out after the season is over, he may sign with a bigger club after the World Cup. I couldn’t think of a better scenario for the man many (including myself) have singled out to be the future star of the USMNT.
Ricardo Clark made his first appearance in the 18 for Frankfurt this weekend. Although he didn’t play, look for him to challenge for a spot when he gets back to full fitness.
Landon Donovan was on the bench for the first time in his short Everton career apparently because of the flu. Donovan did come on in the second half for a short stint, however according to the match reports he missed an easy tap in that would have tied the game against Spurs. Hopefully he can rebound this Wednesday against the Netherlands.
Herculez Gomez of Puebla scored for the third straight game and has four goals overall in seven games in the Mexican First Division. At first I thought maybe this guy deserves another look, but now after coming to my senses, I am just questioning the so called “superiority” of the Mexican league to MLS. How does a guy who has 23 MLS goals in 7 years make such a big impact so fast? I honestly have no idea but I really hope he never gets another call into the USMNT.
Lastly, probably the biggest story of the weekend was Maurice Edu’s 93rd minute game winning goal in the Old Firm derby against Celtic. The goal essentially clinched the SPL title for Rangers who are 10 points ahead of Celtic with a game in hand with just 12 matches left to play. Yes, anything can happen, but considering that Rangers have lost just 4 times in 26 games and have a goal differential of +49, I think it’s safe to say that the title race is over. Check out his goal here:
Not the nicest of goals, but just look at the crowd’s reaction when he scores it. Amazing stuff.
USA – Netherlands preview:
The man who I sometimes admit to being related to already told you the USA roster for the game, but here is the Netherlands roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Piet Velthuizen (Vitesse Arnhem), Michel Vorm (Utrecht).
DEFENDERS: Edson Braafheid (Celtic), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), John Heitinga (Everton), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg), Andre Ooijer (PSV Eindhoven), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax).
MIDFIELDERS: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich), Orlando Engelaar (PSV Eindhoven), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Stijn Schaars (Alkmaar), Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid), Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax).
FORWARDS: Ryan Babel (Liverpool), Eljero Elia (Hamburg), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich).
This experienced group should give USA trouble. In particular, look for Arjen Robben to make an impact as he is on great form right now. There isn’t really much I can say about this game that my brother hasn’t said except for a few things. There is no way Beasley is starting this game like he said. The only way I can imagine him playing is if Stuart Holden plays in the center with Bradley, but that will not happen. Look for the lineup to look like this
Altidore-Johnson
Donovan-Bradley-Edu-Holden
Bornstein-Bocanegra-DeMerit-Spector
Howard
Look for Eddie Johnson to be extremely hesitant in the final third and miss either an easy chance or pass when he should have shot. Honestly, I am excited for this group other than the forward that isn’t Altidore. The Netherlands should dominate possession but hopefully USA can do well on counter attacks and set pieces. The Dutch apparently haven’t scored in their last three friendlies so I am confident that USA can get something out of this game.
Prediction: USA 2 Netherlands 2
That’s all for me today I will be back on Thursday for the USA – Netherlands recap and the top 10 reason to like the New York Red Bulls!
