Where Will Jay Cutler Go from Here?

Yesterday it was reported that the Pro Bowl Quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Jay Cutler, had officially requested a trade. Today, we the people, began contemplating where he might end up if his request is honored. I’m sure there are many fans out there whose team could use a guy in Jay Cutler who played like the potential franchise-type quarterback that many analysts foresaw. The scoop is that new head coach Josh McDaniels, who was offensive coordinator for the Patriots, wanted to trade Cutler for Matt Cassel since he was familiar with his system already. This has since angered the young Cutler and he now wants to go… but where?!

To start off an easy process of elimination, every team in the AFC is out since teams don’t usually like to send star players away to in-conference franchises. And although Cassel was finally traded to another AFC team, like his former Patriots, in the Chiefs, that was more of an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” deal.

This was the widespread thought when that deal went down, because Scott Pioli, the former general manager of the Patriots moved onto Kansas City to try and resurrect that ball club.

So the AFC is out!

In the NFC East, Dallas has Tony Romo, NY has Eli Manning, and Philadelphia has Donovan McNabb. So far, Jason Campbell of the Washington Redskins still has a lot to prove, while Cutler seems way more promising than him thus far when both their careers are compared.

In the NFC North, the Packers have Aaron Rodgers, and the Vikings made moves to throw their young QB Tarvaris Jackson into a competition with newly acquired Sage Rosenfels from Houston. I don’t think that the Lions could attract an odor, so the Bears are definitely a hot spot. They’ve had no success with Rex Grossman, and minimal with Kyle Orton.

In the NFC South, the Saints boast Drew Brees, and the Falcons have a young star in rookie of the year Matt Ryan. The Panthers would have looked to have some great trade bait with the disgruntled Julius Peppers, but now it looks like he may be a Patriot soon. However, with Jake Delhomme being their current signal caller you still can’t count them out. Then there’s the Buccaneers who got rid of veteran Jeff Garcia.

After that, in the NFC West, the Seahawks have Matt Hasselbeck who is not past his better days yet, and Kurt Warner is obviously safe as the Cardinals QB. Cross those two teams out and you have the 49ers with the disappointing results of Alex Smith’s progress, and the St. Louis Rams, who should have started thinking about dropping Marc Bulger quite some time ago.

So there you have it. The top candidates to have Jay Cutler for President!

Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles Playoff Primer

The final game of Wild-Card weekend 2009 may be one of the toughest to predict. It exhibits two teams that struggled to secure playoff births, but at the same time are more than capable of advancing in the post season past the obvious win that one of them will be getting this weekend. The Eagles had blown a game in Washington against the Redskins in week 16 by a score of 10-3 to fall to a record of 8-6-1, and needed to beat the Cowboys in Philadelphia, and hope the Buccaneers and Bears would lose in week 17. Luckily for them, all three of those scenarios became a reality. As for the Vikings, they would have clinched the NFC North regardless, due to the Bears loss in Houston in week 17, but could guarantee the division title with a victory in the final week. Since they beat the Giants in Minnesota 20-19 on a last minute 50 yard field goal to finish 10-6, they were able to hold up their end of the bargain. Now what has unfolded for week 18 is a bout between two teams, one filled with wily veterans in Philadelphia, and another with a collection of young and perhaps budding talent in Minnesota.

 

Advantage Minnesota

 

One of the key factors that Minnesota can rely on to win this game is the fact that they own the league’s top rush defense giving up only 76.9 yards per game going up against an Eagles ground attack that ranked 22^nd with 106.1 yards per game. Couple that with the fact the Eagles were 4^th in the league in pass attempts and 22^nd in rushing yards with 106.1 per game, and the Vikings have a seldom-available luxury: the chance to play an opponent who is virtually one dimensional.

 

One of the most commonly preached strategies in defensive football is the ability to force an opponent to be one-dimensional, i.e. try to get the opponent to beat you with the pass by loading up the line of scrimmage with an eight-man front. What we have here is a team in Philadelphia who by preference already is one-dimensional and mainly likes to pass.

 

The second factor that helps the Vikings is the improved play of quarterback Tarvaris Jackson since he returned to the starting lineup. In his two games to start the season, he was 30-59, good for a 51 percent completion rate with one TD, while throwing for 178 and 130 yards respectively. Now, Jackson has risen to the occasion in the last three and a half games of the season posting 740 yards, 8 TDs, and only one interception while completing 64 percent of his passes. All this has provided the stability at the QB position the Vikings were looking for in Gus Frerotte.

 

Advantage Eagles

 

The Eagles strengths lie in their defense and experience. Even though the Vikings are sporting the 1^st ranked run defense, their pass defense is only 18^th in the league, giving up 215.6 yards per game. That does not match well with the defense of Philadelphia as they ranked 4^th in run defense, 92.2ypg, and 3^rd in total pass defense, 182.1ypg. That type of run defense is more-than solid and should be able to keep Adrian Peterson, the league’s top rusher with 1,760 yards, in check for the most part. And I stress “for the most part” as even though the Eagles rush D is just three spots behind the Vikings, Peterson is still the league’s leading rusher for a reason, and for that, I believe he will have at least one big run in the game.

 

What really stands out for the eagles defensively is their pass defense, because Jackson, although he has improved, is still only averaging 185 yards through the air in his return, which is only 2.9 yards more than what the eagles are giving up. This means that he could easily be limited to within 100-150 yards, and if the Vikings main threat is going to be one to, at the most, three big gainers from Peterson and only a game-management style of play by Jackson, things are not looking up.

 

Conclusion

 

Although the Vikings play at home this weekend, they face a veteran team in the Eagles who are more accustomed to playing in big games. Even if it took four straight NFC Championship games for Donovan McNabb to finally get his team to a Super Bowl, he is still much more playoff savvy than the young Tarvaris Jackson, as is the entire Eagles team. Although both teams are great at stopping the run, Philadelphia is averaging 244.4 yards per game through the air, and with the disparity in the rankings of the two clubs pass defenses being 15 spots (Vikings 18^th minus Eagles 3^rd equals 15), then that is where the true edge in this contest lies.

 

Eagles move on.

Donovan McNabb Sportsroid’s Salute!

Donovan Mcnabb is proving that even with all the garbage he gets from philly fans that he is the best QB for the eagles. This week he threw for 4 td’s and no ints as he lead the eagles to victory over the surging Arizona Cardinals. DONOVAN even got boo’d after going 8-8 in the first quarter when he threw his first incomplete pass! Damn I can’t wait until he gets out of philly and ends up somewhere were people will appreciate him. Seriously, without McNabb eagles stink ! I mean sure go ahead throw your Star QB under the bus when you season does not pan out the way you cheese-steak eating idiots planned it. Yeah Kolb now that’s the answer. Seriously Dnabb is the 4th most winning-est QB in league history and he has the best winning percentage among all active QB’s so how are you going to tell me Kolb gives you the best chance to win? Honestly their must be a lot of blushing people in Philly on this day. I hope the media apologizes to Dnabb because after the last week of punishment they deliberated, they ought to.  I love philly i just wish they took care of their hero’s that’s all!

McNabb, has always needed more respect from philly fans

Seriously what is going on in Philly? Honestly, Donovan is heart of the team. With Westbrook hurting, he is their only option. Kevin Kolb is no Jeff Garcia. Donovan has proven his worth, over the past years, winning games with sub par personal. This organization has done nothing to set up Mcnabb, besides the acquisition of Terrell Owens. Philadelphia fans should realize he has put up great numbers without a star receiver over the past 10 years. This guy is the real deal and if you boo him and don’t respect him your future really to me looks grim. Donovan has shown to be more than just talent and is without a doubt under appreciated. This team and organization and fan base is ass backwards. This kid is a winner, there is no arguing that. Philly fans better think next time they cheer his benching, because come next year he could be a Bear or even worse a Redskin.

Even after being a college standout

Donovan has been criticized in the NFL from his very first day

Redskins Acquire Bro Bowl Cornerback DeAngelo Hall

The Washington Redskins agreed to a one year deal worth just over $800,000 with cornerback DeAngelo Hall on Friday November 7^th, who had just been waived by the Oakland Raiders. It didn’t take too long for the Pro Bowler to find himself a new home. Although there has been a consensus that Hall has been underachieving this past half-season in Oakland, and the previous year in Atlanta, when looked at closely, it is easy to see why Hall can be a good fit for the Redskins.

First of all, Washington has been suffering from injuries in the secondary, and namely at cornerback; starter Shawn Springs, nickel back Fred Smoot, and backup Leigh Torrence. And although none of the three has been injured for extended periods of time, they have all been injured frequently and sporadically enough that the Redskins could not pass up this opportunity.

Aside from the injury bug in Washington, there is also the stable of wide receivers the Redskins have to face twice each year within their division. The New York Giants sport big game and big height, six foot five inch, Plaxico Burress. We all know about Dallas and Terrell Owens, but now with the pickup of big game, and six foot three, Roy Williams, the necessity for a player of Hall’s talents is ever more of the essence. Finally, the Eagles have a budding star in rookie DeSean Jackson, whose 34 receptions for 525 yards have him on pace to reach 1,050 total, and a quarterback in Donovan McNabb who has shown a propensity to do more with less over his career.

As long as DeAngelo Hall can resume the level play during his Pro Bowl garnering seasons, then the Redskins will have made a good choice. If not, they don’t lose much as they only signed him for the remainder of this season.

Undefeated Teams in the NFL look to Remain Unscathed

By Alex V

Lots of teams start off 2-0 and then don’t end up virtually doing crap the rest of the season. Take the 49ers from last year for instance; they began last season a promising 2-0, and then proceeded to, dare I say, “rip” off eight great losses thereafter before finishing their season 4-12. So let’s find out who this year’s 2-0’s are last year’s 49ers, and who looks to get it goin to 3-0 when all is said and done this coming Sunday.

The first team on the docket is the 2-0 Arizona Cardinals. They are coming off a convincing

victory over Miami last weekend, when, perhaps, the new Greatest Show on Turf (Boldin, Fitzgerald and Warner) blasted the Dolphins for a 31-10 final, and a rocky start but strong finish in week one against… you guessed it, San Francisco! They won that game 23-13. Their opponent, the Washington Redskins, found some life this weekend pulling out a come-from-behind win against the Saints while putting up 29 points. But the Cardinals with a healthy Kurt Warner are looking like locks against the lower-tier teams. However, Washington has seemed to have this team’s number, even since the days when they used to be in the same division. Plus beating the Saints kinda takes them to that level between lower-tier and competitive. I’ll go with the Redskins to continue that tradition for at least one more match up since they play at home, and the Cardinals beat two teams that finished a combined 5-28 last season.

The next match up to go over is New England against Miami. They play at home against Miami… I honestly do no want to say anything else about this game, but for the sake of professionalism, I’ll utter a few words. Miami does not look like they’re rebuilding with Chad Pennington, and New England is too savvy, minus the inexperienced, if not promising, Matt Cassel, to let one slip against the Dolphins. New England moves to 3-0.

The New York Giants are looking great overall as a team with every phase being above average; the passing game is spreading the ball around, running game is getting great yardage out of its starter in Brandon Jacobs, as well as Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward, plus the defense is stopping the run, and disrupting the opponents passing game while the special teams

play is solid. The Bengals offense has managed to produce 17 points in two games culminating to an average of less than ten per outing. Their defense has been average, which isn’t terrible, but when you aren’t scoring because your run game doesn’t scare anyone, and your Quarterback plays like he knows his team stinks, well then it’s hard to win games. But that’s not even it. The Bengals just flat out don’t even look like they care. Giants win and remain undefeated. Plus they’re at home this weekend… ‘nuff said.

Houston is at 2-0 Tennessee this weekend. Houston has played one game, and lost. Tennessee has played two games, and won them both. Although Tennessee and Houston are both looking to improve from promise they showed last year, the Titans showed higher promise finishing 10-6 and making the playoffs, while the Texans finished 8-8. This game could be close because of the obvious division rivalry, but I give the edge to the Titans who will remain unbeaten.

Carolina has been pulling off last minute victories the past two weeks like it’s their damn job. They’re becoming the “Cardiac Cats” of their 2003 Super Bowl run once again. This weekend they play against the Vikings in Minnesota. Although you shouldn’t overlook the Vikings (if you’re a smart football enthusiast) because of their hard-fought losses versus Green Bay in week one and Indianapolis last week, I still gotta go with the Panthers experience and return of Steve Smith. They are on the road, but aside from getting to Minnesota, they’ll get to 3-0 as well. What a sweet destination that is!

The Buffalo Bills are 2-0 as well and have the privilege of facing the Oakland Raiders at home this weekend. The Raiders actually looked like a little like a football team last week in smashing the Chiefs 23-8. But… Jamarcus Russell was a dismal 6 for 17 passing with only 55 yards. The Bills have improved enough to where a loss to the Raiders this weekend would look to be an upset. Bills go to 3-0.

The Broncos snuck a win out against the Chargers with that bullshit no-call on the fumble by

Jay Cutler, but a win is a win. The Saints must prove not to be the Aints. But, they’re going a

mile higher into Denver. I gotta pick the Broncos, and not cause they’re at home, but because with Cutler in the line-up they’ve improved steadily from last year up until this point. The Saints have been up and down since the beginning of last season and now 2008 as well.

Pittsburgh is 2-0. Philly scored like crazy on Monday Night Football putting up 30 points on offense (with the other seven coming off a Tony Romo fumble that turned into a recovery in the End zone by the Eagles). The Steelers have to go into Philadelphia to remain 3-0. When it comes to evading tackles and chucking the ball for big gains and/or crucial 3^rd down conversions, the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger and the Eagles’ Donovan McNabb are two of the best. But, the Steelers are more consistent with their running game, and are usually un-phased on the road (scrap any indication of their 3-5 road record from last season meaning anything for this season. As far as I am concerned, they lost four actual meaningful road games as their fifth road loss came in week 17 against the Ravens when the Steelers had locked up a playoff spot and were playing for nothing. The Steelers did what playoff teams do… win at home, where they were 7-1, and perform decently on the road.). Donovan McNabb is, at times, flustered when playing against a 3-4 defense, so I give the edge to the Steelers to improve to 3-0.

The last teams with a chance to go undefeated are the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. This is one of the toughest games of the week to call. It would be a lot easier for me to call if it were at 1:00pm or even one of the 4 o’clock games. If that were the case I would pick Dallas as they have everything Green Bay does; solid defense, playmakers in the running game and passing game, except… Romo is a more proven quarterback than Aaron Rodgers. However, due to the fact that this game is on Sunday Night Football in Green Bay, I go with the Packers to be 3-0 and the Cowboys to be 2-1. But there is one more reason I have to go with Green Bay; Aaron Rodgers has been playing with a chip on his shoulder in the two games this season so far. I have no doubt in my mind he knows that losing this game, or at least a bad performance, could quickly raise any doubts that he had erased with his wonderful performances in weeks 1 and 2. That psyche is enough for me to say that the Packers will win again this weekend.

So there you have my predictions for who will remain undefeated after week 3. There are 10 teams with the chance to improve to 3-0, and two of them, the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, barring a tie, are guaranteed to lose. The interesting thing is that based on the match ups, many of them could remain unbeaten. Can’t wait to see what happens!

Desean Jackson Highschool Highlight Tape

We have found a Highlight tape of Rookie week 1 Standout Desean Jackson. His college coach said he has 4.29 speed which is freakish. This is his highschool Highlight tape, he looks incredible. Check out Donovan’s new weapon in High School at Poly in California. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KglPUm3GUAM&feature=related]

Donovan Mcnabb Is BACK!

Donovan Mcnabb made a lot of Fantasy owner’s smile today. He whipped the St. Louis Rams outscoring there offense 38-3. Donovan silenced all his critics today, for at least a week, throwing for 361 yards on 22/33 attempts. He had 3 TDs and no INTs today. His QB rating today was a overwhelming 131.0 rating.

Another notable performance came form Brian Westbrook, who ran for 91 yards and 1 TD. The Eagles Defense also looked great holding Steven Jackson for less than 50 yards on the ground. Overall the Rams had only 166 yards of Total Offense.

A new Rookie Standout has emerged in the Philadelphia Offense. His name is DeSean Jackson #10. Today in his NFL debut he had 6 catches for 106 yards. Not bad for the rookie return man who was thrust’d into a bigger role by the absence of Eagles WR Kevin Curtis A.K.A “White Chocolate”. Jackson has the potential to get over 200 yards of production, in any game, counting his special team return yards. This was his original role on the team. So, anyone in a Fantasy league who get points for return yards should jump on this player fast, as he is now a fantasy stud one week into his professional career. -Mark M