|
 |
|
|
|||||
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||
|
||||||
|
2008 NFL First round draft order: 1. Miami Jake Long G, Michigan
|
|
Can Indy go back to back Peyton Manning has been the ultimate team leader this season. For all of the talk about losing tackle Tarik Glenn to retirement weeks before the open game of the 2007-08 season and not having much of a running game or the services of future hall of fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison for most of the season the Colts defense has stole the show. Led by the 2007 NFL defense player of the year, safety Bob Sanders, Indy was the toughest team to score on in the NFL this season giving up a total of just 262pts. The defense had their share of injuries as well. Defense end standout Dwight Freeney has been slowed by injuries all year. A dropped touchdown pass might be all that stood in the way the Colts beating New England this year. Rookie wide receiver Anthony Gonzales dropped a tough, but catch able touchdown in Indy's 24-20 loss to the Patriots at home this year. If they get a rematch it will be in the elements just outside Boston. New England seems too be the odds on favorite to win it all. Tom Brady went wild with Randy Moss to throw to this season. Running game, who needs a running game. Everybody does, but it seemed like New England did not. A couple of times New England made it look like a Madden video game keeping Brady and Co. in the game throwing touchdowns long after the outcome was decided. Now is when that is going to pay off. It already did. The last game against the Giants, a 38-34 win that cemented their undefeated regular season showed how you have to keep an edge every play, week in and week out to perform at such a high level where you do not lose. To anybody. Jacksonville could be a player in the race for the Super Bowl. The Jags have a solid defense and they boost a great balance of running a two back system with great play from the quarterback position. Fred Taylor has stayed healthy and he has come on strong down the stretch and Maurice Jones-Drew is the perfect back to give Taylor a break. Head coach Jack Del Rio cut incumbent Byron Leftwhich and made David Garrard his starting quarterback during training camp and it was one of the best decision's he has made. David did not let his coach or his team down throwing for 18-touchdowns with only three interceptions in 2007. Jacksonville showed their versatility in their exciting playoff win over Pittsburgh. The Jags have the right mix of a running game with a quarterback that does not make many mistakes and a tough defense that could give New England trouble in their AFC Divisional playoff match up this week. Only one team has been hotter the last half of the season then the San Diego Chargers who went 7-1 over that time. They climbed out of the 0-3 start to their season to claim the AFC West title in head coach Norv Turner's first with San Diego. One of the toughest openings to a season has the Chargers battle tested. Their star running back had a bad game but behind the play of starting quarterback Phillip Rivers and some late clutch running by LT, San Diego got a monkey off it's back and won a playoff game for the first time since 1994. They held back Tennessee 17-6 in San Diego and they are now off to face the Colts who will remember the six interceptions San Diego had when the Chargers beat Indy 23-21 in week 12. The Colts were without Harrison, Gonzales and tight end Dallas Clark in the loss to the Chargers. This time they are in Nap Town and San Diego's 3-4 defense will have to be on their toes if they are going to knock off the defending champions.
It has been a wacky first quarter around the NFL in 2007
Every where you look around the NFL, with the exceptions of New England, Dallas and Green Bay there is uncertain teams trying to figure out how good they will be in 2007. The Patriots should be fined for getting Randy Moss. It has been a match made in heaven. Randy Moss has always been a hard working player (it might not seem like it) and put in the right situation he does put out. Call it what you want to, but he is in the right situation and after four games lead the NFL in receiving yards (505) and TD's (7) while helping the Pats to a 4-0 start. Tom Brady has never looked better. Moss is running all kinds of patterns, but every game he is sent on a couple of seam patterns designed to put him in a place to do something with his skills. Deep with a DB and maybe a safety on him and looking to score. That is something that Oakland did not do with Moss enough the last two years. Randy has jelled with all business coach Bill Belichick and the rest of the squad. It looks like Brady and Moss have been playing with each other since grade school. What in the world is going on in Philly. It seems like a soap opera. One week team leader and starting QB Donovan McNabb spoke a piece of his mind about the treatment of blacks QB's in the NFL before going out and routing the Detroit Lions that next Sunday. Philly won 56--21 and McNabb had over 300-yards passing and four TD's. Other then that it has been three losses and none uglier then the debacle Sunday night in their 16-3 loss to the Giants. McNabb got sacked a record tying 12-times by New York, six by tackle Osi Umenyiora and the Eagles looked nothing like they did the week before. They are just one of a few what were thought to be contenders when the season started teams that are floundering through the first four games of the season. You have to feel for San Diego, only because they are wasting a year of hall of fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson's career with the sorry season that is un-folding. The Chargers know by now that they should have kept their 2006 coaching staff together. You can't win the Super Bowl if you do not make the playoffs and at 1-3 last in the AFC West, San Diego has work to do to make the playoffs. The team lacks intensity, especially on defense which was a strong point of last year's team. The Chargers rank near the bottom of the league in total defense and they are giving up just over 25pts a game in 2007. Linebacker Shawn Merriman has gotten off to a slow start along with the rest of the defense and I believe it is due to head coach Norv Turner. One of the best offensive coordinator's in the business, being a head coach might be to much for Norv to think about. Fired coach Marty Shottenhiemer might not of won in the playoffs, but at least he knew how to get there. I think one or two more years with that team and the system Marty was running would have put the Chargers into the Super Bowl. Tampa Bay is quietly leading the NFC South at 3-1 and they are doing it with defense. They have allowed a league low 11pts a game so far . After opening the season with a 20-6 loss to Seattle, Tampa has reeled off three wins in a row. They have only allowed more then seven points once in that span, a 31-14 win over the New Orleans Saints. New QB Jeff Garcia has thrown for 771-yards and two TD's, both to Joey Galloway who is showing the league that he still has plenty of speed to burn. The Saints are another team going backwards after a stellar 2006 season. New Orleans was the highest scoring team in 2006, but in the first three games of 2007 they have not scored more then 14pts in any game. Their defense has not given up fewer then 31pts in any game either and that is not a good combination. They have lost one half of their backfield with running back Deuce McCallister getting hurt in the second game of the season. Reggie Bush has only 80-rushing yards in three games. He has scored twice, but his 150-yards of total offense through three games is far below what the team needs from him. Bush looks like he is starting to heat u up He started slow last season and by the end of the year was one of the toughest players to tackle. New Orleans is hoping the two TD, six catch game in the Saints 31-14 loss to Tennessee was a sign of things to come. Not the 31-14 loss, but Reggie Bush getting into the end zone a couple of times a game. The Green Bay Packers are riding high and QB Brett Farve is rewarding the team for sticking with him by leading the Pack to a 4-0 record in 2007.Tthey are one of just eight teams to have scored over 100pts so far in 2007. Favre put the ball in the air 45-times in the Packs 23-16 win over Minnesota last Sunday. He completed 32 of them for 344-yards and two TD's. The first TD broke Dan Marino's all time record for touchdown passes in the NFL. Favre threw another one and the record is now 422 and counting. The Dallas Cowboys are 4-0 and they have the highest scoring offense in the league. QB Tony Romo is playing better and better and the playoff loss last year has seemed to fuel his game. Through the first quarter of the season Jacksonville has been the hardest team to score on. They have only given up 34pts. Tampa Bay has given up 44, but they have played four games to Jacksonville's three. New England (48) and Pittsburgh (47) are the only other teams to have played four games and not given up more then 50pts total on the season. It makes it hard to beat them when you get less then 12pts a game. Something will have to give when Baltimore pays a visit to San Francisco Sunday. Both team are 2-2 despite allowing more points then they have scored. San Francisco has scored 56pts while giving up 93 and the Ravens have not done much better scoring 70 while giving up 90. Baltimore does not have the shut down defense it had a couple of years ago. Ray Lewis has lost a half a step and their pro bowl safety Ed Reed is hurting. They are missing their leading sack man from a year ago. Trevor Price had 13 a year ago and he will not be back in the line up until Nov. 5th at the earliest. Several teams are playing big games this weekend. Can the Arizona Cardinals turn the corner and get above .500. THey are 2-2 with a game against 0-4 St. Louis up next. The Rams have benched their start QB Marc Bulger (broken ribs) in favor of Gus Freotte. The Rams have a patch work offensive line and their starting running back Stephen Jackson will miss his second game in a row. The Cardinals have been using a two quarterback system to some success. Both Kurt Warner and starter Matt Leinart play in each game. Arizona is coming off a come from behind win over 3-1 Pittsburgh and a loss to the Rams would stop whatever momentum they had. Detroit and Washington will face off in a NFC match up between two second place teams. Detroit is 3-1 and they are finally showing signs of becoming the scoring machine they think they are. The Lions have scored 114pts (3rd in the NFL) but their defense has out paced the, giving up 121pts. most of those came against Philly when McNabb went wild, but the fact of the matter is they have the ability to give it up, ie get scored on. Washington comes in to the game with one of the best defense in the league. They are getting healthy too. Running back Clinton Portis looks like his knee will allow him to play Sunday. Portis got hurt two weeks ago and if he plays he can help keep the ball away from the Lions potent passing game. QB John Kitna has thrown for 1,227-yards and eight TD's and the team has averaged 28.7pts a contest.
It looks like Michael Vick's career is in dire straits Michael Vick picked a bad time to get caught up in some illegal activity. New NFL commissioner Brad Godell is taking a zero tolerance stance with players and hopefully management when it come to getting in trouble with the law. Looking at what happened to Pac Man Jones, who has not been convicted of a crime. I am not defending Pac Man, he did some pretty stupid things and got at least a year. Vick could be looking for a new job once his prison sentence is over. It does look like Vick will have to serve some time after making a plea bargain with the DA over the case involving a dog fighting ring at one of the homes he owns. The NFL is waiting to see what kind of sentence Vick gets in December before imposing their own. I have a feeling they are going to make an example of Vick in court and Godell will follow suit. Godell does not seem to be as hard on coaches after not suspending New England head coach Bill Belichick after catching th Patriots cheating by using modern technology to spy on other teams signals. How long has that been going on. During New England's Super Bowl run of the past couple of years it has seemed like they new what was coming. The players were in the right place at the right time. No wonder coach Belichick and New England was able to hard ball so many good veteran players on contracts. He is a good coach, but people are crying foul, saying that Belichick should have been fined and suspended from the team like the players were.
NFL Draft, Their time has come JaMarcus Russell was suited and surrounded by his family as he heard his name called as the first pick of 2007 NFL Draft. It continued a recent trend of the number one pick. It was the eighth time in the last ten years that a QB was selected with the number one pick. Russell comes to the NFL following a career that saw him improved from his sophomore year when he passed for 9 TD's and four picks to his senior year that saw him pass for 28 TD's and only eight interceptions. The player everybody has labeled the can't miss prospect in the 2007 draft came off the board next. Detroit selected Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson the second overall pick. It was the fourth first round pick in the last five years that the Lions picked a wideout. Cleveland had the third pick of the draft and they heated things up by passing on such players as Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn and Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson to select Wisconsin left tackle Joe Thomas. Thomas comes into the league as one of the most highly rated tackles in recent memory. He is light on his feet, he played tight end in high school. That is something you can't over look. The zone blitzing scheme's now run by defenses and all the speed rushers coming from the edges mean as a offensive lineman you have to be quick on your feet.
Spending Spree in the NFL NFL teams gear up for draft and 2007 season It has been one of the busiest off seasons in recent NFL history. Big name players have been cut all over the league in a very busy free agent signing period. Current and former all pro's such as Miami Dolphin tight end Randy McMichael, Pittsburg linebacker Joey Porter, Baltimore running back Jamal Lewis and Denver QB Jake Plummer where all let go by their former teams to help with the salary cap. Most have been snapped up before they could catch their breath. The offensively starved Dolphins have let QB Joey Harrington, McMichael and wide receiver Wes Walker all go, but they quickly added Porter to an all ready tough defense. New England is trying to recapture their Super Bowl magic. They have been very busy in the off-season. First they cut loose running back Cory Dillon and tight end Daniel Graham. Dillon has been a starter since coming over from Cincinnati in 2004.Dillon ran for a career high 1,635-yards his first season in New England and 12-rushing touchdown's, but his production has slipped the past two seasons. He has a combined 1,545-yards the last two season's, but he has stayed productive, scoring 25-TD's over that span. The pats have not stood pat, bring in tight end Kyle Brady, linebacker Adalius Thomas and wide receiver Wes Walker to help a team that went from the hunted to being the hunter after falling to Indy in the playoffs.
Super Bowl Black For the first time in NFL history, there is not only one black coach in the NFL championship game, but two opposing coaches will be black men in the most watched television program of the year--the NFL Super Bowl!
Tony Dungy became the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl title A proud moment in black history, a proud moment in american history & a proud moment in professional sports! the american & world sports communities will come out with a long awaited black winning coach. Considering this historical event & black history month as well, one has to consider the fact that blacks have been paid in football for over 100 years. The first recognized professional football player was paid in 1904. Black coaches have been around for almost as long (1927), so the inevitable question is why did it take so long, the 41st super bowl, for a black coach to win a NFL championship. I thought it might be a good time for us to review NFL & pro football history to see accomplishments by blacks in coaching & in other areas of the game. Others might be interested in reading about these black supermen & their super accomplishments. Here is the first in a "super bowl, super black" short series. Here's to the first coach of the year, Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard was the first black coach in the NFL. Brown University and the Black Coaches Association co-sponsor an annual Fritz Pollard Award, to be presented to the college or professional coach chosen by the BCA as coach of the year. The award honors Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard of Brown's Class of 1919, the first African American to play in a Rose Bowl Game (for Brown, in 1916), first to quarterback an NFL team, and first to coach in the NFL. PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Fritz Pollard, one of the earliest and greatest running backs in American football, is beginning to receive the lasting recognition that eluded him during his lifetime. Brown University and the Black Coaches Association announced that they will co-sponsor an annual award for the male college or professional coach of the year, to be named in Pollard's honor. Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard “As easy to catch as a bolt of lightning and as easily held,” Fritz Pollard was a standout halfback on Brown's 1916 Rose Bowl team. He later became the first African American NFL coach. “Fritz Pollard was a pioneer, a man who excelled not only because of his magnificent athletic gifts, but also because of his wits, intelligence and ability to lead and inspire people,” said Floyd A. Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches Association. “Those qualities and his persistence against very long odds capture the very essence of the BCA's annual male coach of the year award in all aspects.” The BCA will select the male coach of the year and will present the Fritz Pollard Award at its annual awards banquet. Brown University will arrange for the design and creation of a permanent trophy, to be inscribed each year with the recipient's name, and will fund an annual $10,000 prize for the Pollard Award winner. The University will also bring the Pollard Award recipient to the Brown campus for an annual presentation to the University community. The first Pollard Award was presented June 5, 2004, in Indianapolis . “People who know about Fritz Pollard know him largely because of his football achievements,” said David Roach, Brown's athletic director, “but he was much more than an outstanding athlete. We hope the Fritz Pollard Award and the annual campus presentations by the Pollard Award winners will give the University an opportunity to draw a more detailed and comprehensive picture of this extraordinary man.” Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard was a member of the Brown University Class of 1919. A standout halfback in his freshman year, he became the first African American to play in a Rose Bowl Game (1916). The following fall, he led Brown's 1916 football team, among the best in Brown's history, to a successful season and Brown's first victory against Harvard. In successive Saturday victories over Harvard and Yale, Pollard gained 531 yards of total offense and scored three touchdowns. Pollard also joined the track team in his freshman year and set a world record in the low hurdles. After Brown, Pollard went on to achieve a number of firsts: a member of the first team to win a professional national football championship (the Akron Pros), first African American coach in the NFL (with Akron again), the first African American quarterback (with the Hammond, Ind ., Pros in 1923), the first NFL head coach (with Hammond), and founder of one of the nation's first black-owned securities firms, F.D. Pollard and Co. Pollard had finished his playing and coaching career before a 1933 “gentlemen's agreement” among team owners effectively barred black athletes from the NFL. He returned to professional competition in 1935, however, as coach and owner of the Brown Bombers, a professional team that played in Harlem for three highly successful seasons – funded by a loan from John D. Rockefeller Jr., a friend from Pollard's days at Brown. The Bombers' roster was a Who's Who of black athletes at the time, including players from basketball and baseball leagues as well as former NFL stars. The Depression and the war ended the Brown Bombers' run in 1938, and Pollard went on to other ventures, including a talent agency, tax consulting and film and music production. He stayed in touch with Brown, returning in 1954 to be honored by President Henry Wriston upon his election as the first African American in the National ( College) Football Hall of Fame . His son and grandson attended Brown (his son, also a gifted athlete, won a bronze medal in the 1936 Munich Olympic Games). In 1969 he served as class marshal for the 50th reunion of the Class of 1919, and in 1981 Brown University conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree on Pollard, recognizing his achievements as athlete and leader. Frederick "Fritz" Pollard, Running Back, Brown University Played 1919-1921, 1925-26 Akron , 1922 Milwaukee , 1923, 1925 Hammond, 1925 Providence. Coaching Firsts by African-Americans. First African-American head coach: Fritz Pollard, 1921 Akron , 1925 Hammond First African-American head coach, modern era: Art Shell, 1989 Los Angeles Raiders First African-American assistant coach: Lowell Perry, 1957 Pittsburgh Steelers First African-American head coach to take team to Super Bowl: Lovie Smith, 2006 Chicago Bears; Tony Dungy, 2006 Indianapolis Colts
|
|
|
|
|
Inside Sports 1st String Magazine All Rights Reserved 2000-08 TM |
|
