Newton has certainly made an early NFL impact and silenced the naysayers who thought he wasn't worthy of being the #1 pick in the NFL Draft.
So far in 2 games, one against the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, Newton is 52-83 for 854 yards passing. He's got 3 TDs and 4 INTs. He's also rushed 18 times for 72 yards with 2 TDs.
He now holds the record for most passing yards ever by a quarterback in an NFL debut and most passing yards through 2 games by a rookie. He held the most passing yards in a 2 game stretch by any quarterback for a few hours until Tom Brady, who threw for 517 yards in week 1 against the Dolphins, claimed that.
Still though, a heck of a debut. Newton missed the Panther franchise record for passing yards by 1 yard in his debut. In week 2 he surpassed week1 and took that record. So in two games, Cam Newton has 2 of the top 3 passing yardage games in Carolina Panther's history.
Newton hasn't been perfect. But he's been poised. He forces the ball less than many quarterbacks of his experience level. He's developed good chemistry with Steve Smith. And very surprisingly for a mobile quarterback he doesn't have happy feet. He buys time to keep plays alive but is looking to throw first rather than bailing out of a play too early and tucking it away.
He does throw some balls that he should throw away. He has made a couple mistakes and gotten picked. Charles Woodson picked him twice last week for Green Bay. The throws weren't egregiously poor decisions, but were poor decisions against a corner of Woodson's caliber. Those throws may have beaten an average college corner, but they're not going to beat a veteran who's heading to Canton after he retires. So those decisions are a case of knowing what you can do at the NFL level, and against whom, and what you can't.
At any rate I don't expect that anyone expected this kind of debut. I didn't. He gets an A (not an A+) from me.
Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Friday, September 23, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
an NFL record for Detroit's Jason Hanson
Detroit kicker Jason Hanson, in his 20th season as a Lion, played in his 297th game as a Lion today. That breaks the all-time record for games played by a player with a single team.
Talk about toiling. Being a Lion for 20 years. He played with Barry Sanders. Detroit made the playoffs with some regularity on the latter part of Sanders' career, though they only one 1 playoff game in that time. To date that's still the last playoff game they won, when they went on the lose to Dallas during their Super Bowl Dynasty.
Since then they haven't been to the playoffs in forever. Could this season be the year that changes? They actually have talent on both sides of the ball at the same time for once. We'll see.
Talk about toiling. Being a Lion for 20 years. He played with Barry Sanders. Detroit made the playoffs with some regularity on the latter part of Sanders' career, though they only one 1 playoff game in that time. To date that's still the last playoff game they won, when they went on the lose to Dallas during their Super Bowl Dynasty.
Since then they haven't been to the playoffs in forever. Could this season be the year that changes? They actually have talent on both sides of the ball at the same time for once. We'll see.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
In game observation: New Orleans at Green Bay - the 2011 NFL season kicks off
Ironically all the talk of moving the kickoff up and the first kickoff of the season isn't a touchback, going only about 2 yards deep into the endzone.
Friday, August 19, 2011
I don't understand the uproar over Terrelle Pryor being suspended the first 5 games of the NFL season
There's been a lot of uproar about NFL Commissioner Goodell making Pryor eligible for the NFL Supplemental Draft, but suspending him for the first 5 games. There was talk of "collusion" with the NCAA, since it had already suspended him for the first 5 games of this season before additional information came to light that ultimately made him ineligible due to the benefits that he took over the last couple years at Ohio State.
Since he was now ineligible, Pryor decided to declare for the NFL Draft. But since he did that after the submission deadline he wasn't eligible for the regular draft. Thus the supplemental draft, though there was debate over the fact that his situation wasn't exactly a circumstance outside of his control, which is the normal criteria for opening a supplemental draft. In that case he'd have to wait for next year's draft. Just like Mike Williams did out of USC a few years ago. Williams went pro late, then tried to sue his way into the NFL Draft. He lost the suit, and they didn't open up a special draft for him. He had to wait until the next April.
Goodell felt that Pryor had manipulated the timing of when he confessed additional violations to the NCAA, which then escalated things from a "minor" 5 game suspension to being totally ineligible, so that he could avoid the draft and talk to teams individually to try to get some control over what team takes him in the supplemental draft. Any team can make a pick, they just lose a corresponding regular draft pick the next draft.
Had Pryor finished off his admissions to the NCAA earlier he could have then declared for the regular draft, but he'd then be stuck playing for the team that drafts him. He still is now, but teams don't have to draft in the supplemental draft if there's nothing that interests them. I think there are 4 or 5 players overall this year due to various circumstances. So Pryor can make a sales pitch to stir up interest.
He'd also been due a 5 game suspension from the NCAA. Given that he left the NCAA on bad terms, due to being caught receiving improper benefits, like free cars, from a booster, it's totally reasonable for the NFL to hold to the same thing. The NCAA and NFL don't work together, nor should they be obligated to. But since 99.9 % of players in the NFL come in from college football, the NFL should do its part to help uphold the integrity of the NCAA by not turning a blind eye to players who violated rules so badly that they got suspended, then later lost their eligibility in a situation that ultimately got Ohio State on NCAA probation and Coach Jim Tressel fired. If the NFL does nothing that just says "do what you want guys. Don't worry about what the NCAA does to you. Come to the NFL. We'll forget all about it and give you millions of dollars." That would just make things worse
A case could also be made of "if you don't play by the NCAA rules who says you'll play by the NFL rules?" So that shouldn't be rewarded. In truth Pryor not being able to play or practice for the first 5 games is minor. He probably wouldn't be playing anyway. He can still be at his team facilities and it would probably take him 5 games to learn his team's offense and get into football shape again, all of which he can do in that 5 weeks.
Since he was now ineligible, Pryor decided to declare for the NFL Draft. But since he did that after the submission deadline he wasn't eligible for the regular draft. Thus the supplemental draft, though there was debate over the fact that his situation wasn't exactly a circumstance outside of his control, which is the normal criteria for opening a supplemental draft. In that case he'd have to wait for next year's draft. Just like Mike Williams did out of USC a few years ago. Williams went pro late, then tried to sue his way into the NFL Draft. He lost the suit, and they didn't open up a special draft for him. He had to wait until the next April.
Goodell felt that Pryor had manipulated the timing of when he confessed additional violations to the NCAA, which then escalated things from a "minor" 5 game suspension to being totally ineligible, so that he could avoid the draft and talk to teams individually to try to get some control over what team takes him in the supplemental draft. Any team can make a pick, they just lose a corresponding regular draft pick the next draft.
Had Pryor finished off his admissions to the NCAA earlier he could have then declared for the regular draft, but he'd then be stuck playing for the team that drafts him. He still is now, but teams don't have to draft in the supplemental draft if there's nothing that interests them. I think there are 4 or 5 players overall this year due to various circumstances. So Pryor can make a sales pitch to stir up interest.
He'd also been due a 5 game suspension from the NCAA. Given that he left the NCAA on bad terms, due to being caught receiving improper benefits, like free cars, from a booster, it's totally reasonable for the NFL to hold to the same thing. The NCAA and NFL don't work together, nor should they be obligated to. But since 99.9 % of players in the NFL come in from college football, the NFL should do its part to help uphold the integrity of the NCAA by not turning a blind eye to players who violated rules so badly that they got suspended, then later lost their eligibility in a situation that ultimately got Ohio State on NCAA probation and Coach Jim Tressel fired. If the NFL does nothing that just says "do what you want guys. Don't worry about what the NCAA does to you. Come to the NFL. We'll forget all about it and give you millions of dollars." That would just make things worse
A case could also be made of "if you don't play by the NCAA rules who says you'll play by the NFL rules?" So that shouldn't be rewarded. In truth Pryor not being able to play or practice for the first 5 games is minor. He probably wouldn't be playing anyway. He can still be at his team facilities and it would probably take him 5 games to learn his team's offense and get into football shape again, all of which he can do in that 5 weeks.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
the NFL lockout ends and the annual Bret Favre drama starts up
Rumors immediately started flying that the Eagles are interested in having Bret Favre back up Michael Vick. Favre's agent didn't quell any rumors with his "I haven't heard anything about that" response.
This makes what, the fourth consecutive off-season of "will he stay retired? Will he not?". Unlike previous seasons it's possible that Favre would settle for a backup role. Maybe the realities of last season, getting battered and actually injured for the first time ever, have showed him that age has caught up with him. So maybe reality has tempered his superstar ego a bit and he's willing to be a backup, now realizing that he doesn't have it in the 42 year old body to be a quarterback every snap of every game anymore. And if he just can't stay away from football, and if his family situation is a mess due to the sexting allegations last year (just my theorizing), maybe he'd do whatever it took to spend his time back in an NFL locker room rather than sitting at home on the couch or the tractor.
But still, it took all of 5 seconds after the lockout for that never dying rumor to start up. Maybe once he's 50, or if he finally says 'No' this time around, it will end.
This makes what, the fourth consecutive off-season of "will he stay retired? Will he not?". Unlike previous seasons it's possible that Favre would settle for a backup role. Maybe the realities of last season, getting battered and actually injured for the first time ever, have showed him that age has caught up with him. So maybe reality has tempered his superstar ego a bit and he's willing to be a backup, now realizing that he doesn't have it in the 42 year old body to be a quarterback every snap of every game anymore. And if he just can't stay away from football, and if his family situation is a mess due to the sexting allegations last year (just my theorizing), maybe he'd do whatever it took to spend his time back in an NFL locker room rather than sitting at home on the couch or the tractor.
But still, it took all of 5 seconds after the lockout for that never dying rumor to start up. Maybe once he's 50, or if he finally says 'No' this time around, it will end.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
odds and ends from the NFL Draft first round
Carolina took Cam Newton with the #1 pick int the NFL Draft. They needed a quarterback, but then they need alot. It will be interesting to see how he pans out. He's big and physical, and really run, and has a strong arm.
On the other hand, despite the fact that he won the Heisman and QBed the National Champion Auburn Tigers he played only one season of big time football. He did play junior college so he has some seasoning. It seems like he'll be starting early for Carolina. Can he he drop back and throw it well enough? Can he make effective running decisions in the NFL? Linebacker size or not, QB's just can't take regular hits from guys the size and speed of NFL linebackers and safeties. He better learn to slide.
The Lions, with the 13th overall pick, took another Auburn Tiger, DE Nick Fairley. At times Fairley looked like the best defensive player in college football, and a sure #1 pick. But he also had a tendency to take plays off. He also developed a reputation, fair or not, of being a dirty player. It could be a great pick for the Lions if it pans out. They've put together an excellent stable of pass rushers and a solid down four on defense the last couple drafts. I think they still need to work on the secondary, but #13 was too low to get the elite safety/corners.
On a non-football note, 1 Auburn and 2 Alabama players were taken in the first 6 picks, and 6 of the first 7 were SEC players.
I hope these new multi-millionaires contribute some money, especially the guys from the state of- and University of- Alabama, to relief in Tuscaloosa and Alabama, and the neighboring states that got hammered in that severe weather outbreak.
I'm not one to say that rich folks are obligated to make charitable donations. It's nice, but it's their money. But I'd hope, given the tremendous need of Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama,and Tuscaloosa, after yesterday's massive tornado outbreak, that some of those kids step forward.
Alabama is known for having incredibly passionate and loyal football fans. I hope those Alabama guys share in that community spirit and give back in a time of dire need close to their roots.
On the other hand, despite the fact that he won the Heisman and QBed the National Champion Auburn Tigers he played only one season of big time football. He did play junior college so he has some seasoning. It seems like he'll be starting early for Carolina. Can he he drop back and throw it well enough? Can he make effective running decisions in the NFL? Linebacker size or not, QB's just can't take regular hits from guys the size and speed of NFL linebackers and safeties. He better learn to slide.
The Lions, with the 13th overall pick, took another Auburn Tiger, DE Nick Fairley. At times Fairley looked like the best defensive player in college football, and a sure #1 pick. But he also had a tendency to take plays off. He also developed a reputation, fair or not, of being a dirty player. It could be a great pick for the Lions if it pans out. They've put together an excellent stable of pass rushers and a solid down four on defense the last couple drafts. I think they still need to work on the secondary, but #13 was too low to get the elite safety/corners.
On a non-football note, 1 Auburn and 2 Alabama players were taken in the first 6 picks, and 6 of the first 7 were SEC players.
I hope these new multi-millionaires contribute some money, especially the guys from the state of- and University of- Alabama, to relief in Tuscaloosa and Alabama, and the neighboring states that got hammered in that severe weather outbreak.
I'm not one to say that rich folks are obligated to make charitable donations. It's nice, but it's their money. But I'd hope, given the tremendous need of Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama,and Tuscaloosa, after yesterday's massive tornado outbreak, that some of those kids step forward.
Alabama is known for having incredibly passionate and loyal football fans. I hope those Alabama guys share in that community spirit and give back in a time of dire need close to their roots.
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Super Bowl. Or Something Like That
More Americans watched the Super Bowl than any TV broadcast in history. I figure then that so did you. Everyone knows that Green Bay beat Pittsburgh 31-25. Aaron Rodgers has now won as many Super Bowls as the legendary Brett Farve. He's also lost far fewer NFC Championship Games than Favre, including none where defeat was snatched from the jaws of the Super Bowl by boneheaded, mind-boggling mistakes. Time will now tell whether Rodgers can go the rest of his career without the Interception Filled Ghost Of Favre's Career looming over his shoulder.
Other than that, the brief recap:
Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem.
Commercials for Doritos and Pepsi Max
Aaron Rodgers drew first Super Bowl blood with a TD Pass.
Somewhere in here the male libido was assaulted by commercials with Joan Rivers and Roseanne Barr. The women got Thor and Captain America and collectively "ooooohed" throughout the land.
Ben Roethlesberger honored the memory of legendary Green Bay Quarterback Bret Favre in Green Bay's first post-Favre Super Bowl, by throwing a Classic Favre Pick 6. It was a lazy pop fly to left field, for a routine catch and recovery. Big Ben said his arm was hit as he threw. Maybe. Maybe not. But it sounded good, and somewhere out there Bret Favre nodded in approval. The game was officially over at that point, as no team that has ever returned an interception for a TD in a Super Bowl has ever lost the game.
At halftime the Black Eyed Peas brought us "Tron: The Musical". Background dancers wearing lit up US Postal Service mail crates on their heads showed us visions of The Mailman of the Future. Axl Rose broke another TV somewhere out in parts unknown as Slash played guitar for a Fergie cover of Sweet Child O' Mine.
In the second half Green Bay felt the pressure of a Super Bowl lead and apparently the mesmerizing aftereffects of the Halftime Hypno-Show, and went to sleep for a bit more than a quarter.
Clay Matthews forced a red zone Steelers' fumble though right when it looked like Pittsburgh was about to totally seize the momentum and never look back. They reawakened to score a lead extending TD.
The Packers then responded to a Roethlesberger TD with their defining drive, which burned clock and, while not culminating in a TD, provided a short field goal to extend the lead to 6.
The door was open for Pittsburgh but they couldn't convert on 4th down. After recent Super Bowls with the Santonio Holmes catch for Pittsburgh against Arizona, the Plaxico Burress catch against New England, as well as the Eli Manning-David Tyree miracle 4th down pass and catch, it almost came as a jolting shock to see Roethlesberger's final pass routinely knocked down by double coverage.
Aaron Rodgers was named the Super Bowl MVP. After the game, not having a cute little infant son nor having the foresight to borrow Drew Brees' son, Rodgers and the Pack celebrated by holding the WWE World Championship Title belt up high. The Big Gold Belt made an appearance and somewhere Ric Flair smiled and said "WOOOOOOOOOOOO".
Other than that, the brief recap:
Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem.
Commercials for Doritos and Pepsi Max
Aaron Rodgers drew first Super Bowl blood with a TD Pass.
Somewhere in here the male libido was assaulted by commercials with Joan Rivers and Roseanne Barr. The women got Thor and Captain America and collectively "ooooohed" throughout the land.
Ben Roethlesberger honored the memory of legendary Green Bay Quarterback Bret Favre in Green Bay's first post-Favre Super Bowl, by throwing a Classic Favre Pick 6. It was a lazy pop fly to left field, for a routine catch and recovery. Big Ben said his arm was hit as he threw. Maybe. Maybe not. But it sounded good, and somewhere out there Bret Favre nodded in approval. The game was officially over at that point, as no team that has ever returned an interception for a TD in a Super Bowl has ever lost the game.
At halftime the Black Eyed Peas brought us "Tron: The Musical". Background dancers wearing lit up US Postal Service mail crates on their heads showed us visions of The Mailman of the Future. Axl Rose broke another TV somewhere out in parts unknown as Slash played guitar for a Fergie cover of Sweet Child O' Mine.
In the second half Green Bay felt the pressure of a Super Bowl lead and apparently the mesmerizing aftereffects of the Halftime Hypno-Show, and went to sleep for a bit more than a quarter.
Clay Matthews forced a red zone Steelers' fumble though right when it looked like Pittsburgh was about to totally seize the momentum and never look back. They reawakened to score a lead extending TD.
The Packers then responded to a Roethlesberger TD with their defining drive, which burned clock and, while not culminating in a TD, provided a short field goal to extend the lead to 6.
The door was open for Pittsburgh but they couldn't convert on 4th down. After recent Super Bowls with the Santonio Holmes catch for Pittsburgh against Arizona, the Plaxico Burress catch against New England, as well as the Eli Manning-David Tyree miracle 4th down pass and catch, it almost came as a jolting shock to see Roethlesberger's final pass routinely knocked down by double coverage.
Aaron Rodgers was named the Super Bowl MVP. After the game, not having a cute little infant son nor having the foresight to borrow Drew Brees' son, Rodgers and the Pack celebrated by holding the WWE World Championship Title belt up high. The Big Gold Belt made an appearance and somewhere Ric Flair smiled and said "WOOOOOOOOOOOO".
Thursday, January 20, 2011
After all that Bret Favre has brought us the last couple years this is amusing
I can't take the credit for finding it myself. A buddy posted it to Facebook but it's pretty funny
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
first live sporting event for the blog
The reason for the downtime in blog posting was that I was in Florida. The main event of the trip was my first ever NFL game. We'd had our sights set on the Tampa Bay-Detroit game ever since the NFL announced that Detroit would play in Detroit, before the official schedule was even out, back in about June. When we found out the game would be December 19th we jumped on it. Florida in December? Hell yeah!
I've always thought Raymond James Stadium is a nice stadium. I enjoy the pirate ship firing its cannons when Tampa Bay scores. Our view was outstanding, in the upper level above the corner of one of the endzones. Most of the game's scoring happened in the endzone in front of us.
The game was well played and there were no turnovers. The crowd was really into it in the second half as the Bucs took the lead, then broke a tie later with a field goal inside of the 2 minute warning. But Detroit worked their strategy well, used its timeouts to save more time for their offense, and held the Bucs to a field goal. They t then drove down the field, largely at the hands of Calvin Johnston, who ran wild all game, and after a shot into the endzone for a win in regulation, settled for a game tying field goal as time expired.
My first NFL game went to overtime. Detroit won the coin toss and marched down to kick a game winning field goal. The Lions won 23-20 to break a 29 game road losing streak. They've also won 2 games in a row and are 4-10 on the season.
The view from our seats.
Me and our view
Lions win! Lions win! They're undefeated in games I have attended.
I've always thought Raymond James Stadium is a nice stadium. I enjoy the pirate ship firing its cannons when Tampa Bay scores. Our view was outstanding, in the upper level above the corner of one of the endzones. Most of the game's scoring happened in the endzone in front of us.
The game was well played and there were no turnovers. The crowd was really into it in the second half as the Bucs took the lead, then broke a tie later with a field goal inside of the 2 minute warning. But Detroit worked their strategy well, used its timeouts to save more time for their offense, and held the Bucs to a field goal. They t then drove down the field, largely at the hands of Calvin Johnston, who ran wild all game, and after a shot into the endzone for a win in regulation, settled for a game tying field goal as time expired.
My first NFL game went to overtime. Detroit won the coin toss and marched down to kick a game winning field goal. The Lions won 23-20 to break a 29 game road losing streak. They've also won 2 games in a row and are 4-10 on the season.
The view from our seats.
Me and our view
Lions win! Lions win! They're undefeated in games I have attended.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
A stat from the Lions latest loss today...
One of the Lions wide receivers guaranteed a victory today. I can only fathom two explanations for this:
1) He got tired of guaranteeing a loss and decided to mix it up a bit.
2) He forgot what team he plays for.
Again Detroit was competitive, but again they lost. Guaranteeing a win against the Bears when starting your third string QB is not good odds. With the loss comes my stat:
The Lions fell to 2-10 when leading at halftime since the start of 2008.
This is a shocking stat. Detroit's actually been leading at the half in 12 games since 2008.
1) He got tired of guaranteeing a loss and decided to mix it up a bit.
2) He forgot what team he plays for.
Again Detroit was competitive, but again they lost. Guaranteeing a win against the Bears when starting your third string QB is not good odds. With the loss comes my stat:
The Lions fell to 2-10 when leading at halftime since the start of 2008.
This is a shocking stat. Detroit's actually been leading at the half in 12 games since 2008.
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