Steelers vs Ravens

Hey All,

Last night, Sunday November 18th, the Steelers took on the Ravens in one of the best football rivalries in game today.

When these two teams come together to play one another, it's nothing less than a heavy weight bought that last 15 rounds. Last night was no different. The only difference was, there was no Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers star QB was out with a shoulder injury as well as a rib injury.

In his place the Steelers went with back up QB Byron Leftwhich, instead of Charlie Batch. Batch as been labeled the 3rd string QB rather than the back up as he's been for many years. Both QB's are long time veterans of the league, and more than capable to replace Ben. That being said, lets talk about the game.

The game got off to a rocky start for the Steelers WR Mike Wallace in the first quarter. Just minutes into the game the speedy receiver fumbled and gave the Ravens an chance to jump out early, had the Steelers not recovered the fumble. After that Leftwhich wanted to try and air it out, and drew a pass interference call putting the Steelers in great field position. The very next play, Bryon Leftwhich takes off after a busted play and took the ball 32 yards for the first touchdown of the game. This was also the longest rush of Leftwhich's career. The Steelers D would hold the Ravens on their first possession, and that would be the tail of the take for the rest of this game. The next Steelers possession tragedy would strike again for Wallace, as he fumbles again but this time the Ravens were able to recover the fumble. On the Ravens next Offensive possession they were only able to get a field goal out of the drive, making the score 7-3 in favor of the Steelers. The rest of the game would be like this, a defensive game. The Steelers would go 3 and out of the next possession, and would make the biggest mistake of the game. The Steelers would kick to dangerous return make Jacobi Jones, who would take the kick 63 yards for the only touchdown of the game making the score 10-7 in favor of the Ravens. This would be how the quarter would end.

The second quarter would have little to no excitement, but would have a lot of things go wrong for the Ravens. The Ravens would loss their main Tight End Denis Pitta, who would leave the game with a concussion. There would be no offense from either team in this quarter at all. The only other scoring chance would come from the Ravens, and it would be a missed field goal from 41 yards. This would be the end of the half with the score 10-7 Ravens.

In the second half, it would be the same thing that went on in the first half, NO OFFENSE. Neither team would be able to produce any type of offense at all. There would only be two more scores and they would both be field goals one from the Ravens from 39 yards, and the other from the Steelers Shaun Suisham from 22 yards out. The only other action that happened in this half, was an interception from Leftwhich, but other than that, nothing.

My take on this game would have to be that the Steelers blew this game. They gave it away. It was clear to everyone who could see, that Bryon Leftwhich was hurt, and in pain throughout the game. He hurt himself when he scored the only offensive touchdown of the game. He tripped and fell awkwardly in the end zone. He instantly reached up and grabbed his shoulder. If I was the coach, I would have had the medical staff check him out completely and make sure that he was okay to return to the game. They have a capable back up to him in Charlie Batch, so why no bring him in and make sure that Leftwhich could finish the game, yet that did not happen. Why it didn't happen? I have no idea. This was the dumbest thing that the Steelers could have done in this game. Leftwhich was missing throws that he is able to make, winsing in pain after every throw, and not willing to run the ball at all. Given, he was taking so many shots in this game. The line didn't protect him at all. If they would have been able to give him a little more time, he may have made some throws, and not get hit as much.

All in all, it doesn't matter how much I bitch about this game. The Steelers lost, and that's that. Can't take it back, can't have a do over for this game, and they fell 2 games back from the Ravens in the Division. They only thing that they can do, is wait 2 weeks until they play them again in Baltimore. This would be a rematch of the heavy weight bought that we saw Sunday night. The only thing I think that can save the Steelers chances to win this game would be to get Ben healthy and have him play instead of Leftwhich or Batch.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

Steelers WR Looking Better

Hey All,

Everyone has been coming to me and saying that the Steelers WR aren't some of the best receivers in the league. Well to those who say they aren't that good, I say look at the stats. The Steelers receivers are among the best in the league. They may drop a few passes here and there, but when it counts they make it happen. This one little factor makes them great players. When the game is on the line, and the Steelers are down, they find ways to come up with the big catch.

Let's take a look at the Chiefs game and you tell me, after I give you the facts, that they are not great receivers when it counts. Late in the second quarter the Steelers were down 10-3 against the Chiefs. They were going into score, and the Chiefs had great coverage on Mike Wallace. Wallace was in double coverage, and comes up with a one handed catch that he controls between his legs. He regained control just before rolling out of bounds. This was critical because it tied the game and took the wind out of the sails of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs then began to shoot themselves in the foot. Stupid penalties in the second half and taking points off the board. As this was happening the Steelers came up big, even when Big Ben was out hurt. Byron Leftwitch came in and the rest of the team rallied around each other to help pull out an overtime win against the Chiefs

Everyone is so quick to blame the offense when the team isn't doing good. But have you ever thought of taking a look at the defense, that isn't doing much of anything. The team has 16 sacks on the season, as well as 8 fumbles on the season, and 5 interceptions   I know they're playing a lot of the back ups, with key players being out, but as a back up you should be just as good and ready to play at a moments notice.

I think the Steelers will be okay here, if they can get a few of the injured players back in the line up. The defense needs to start and step it up so that the Steelers can keep on the winning way. They haven't looked good, but have found ways to come up with the win when it matters. If the team can keep pulling out tough wins when it matters the most, I think they will be okay and look for a playoff run.

They have a though road ahead of the playing the Ravens twice in the next three weeks. It's uncommon for a team to play a divisional team twice in three weeks, and will make the test of the Steelers that much more critical. With all the injuries, now the injury to Ben, the Steelers need to get healthy and get health quick.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

Rookies Have a Great Day

Hey All,

Yesterday, Sunday November 4th, a pair of rookies had record breaking days. Running back Doug Martin for the Bucs explodes with a huge day on the ground, while Andrew Luck and Brandon Marshall scored a hat trick.

By now, Fantasy owners probably gave up on Doug Martin, but not this guy. I knew it would only be a few games before Martin had a big day, and became a feature back in the NFL. He already won the position over a very good running back in LaGarrette Blunt in the off-season, and has looked very good as of late.

Martin happened all over the Raiders with a legendary performance of 272 total yards and four touchdowns. The arrow is pointed firmly up for the Boise State rookie after three straight scoring weeks and a second straight multi-touchdown outing. The rest of the schedule is promising, too. San Diego's fourth-ranked rushing defense next week looks like the biggest obstacle without one other top-11 ranked unit on the rest of the schedule. The Broncos (12th), Eagles (16th), Panthers (20th), Falcons (24th) and Rams (13th) are all middle of the pack at best, with Week 15's Saints matchup looking like playoff gold.

Andrew Luck's record 433-yard, two-touchdown day suggested a bigger win, but the Colts needed every completion to down the Dolphins. While Reggie Wayne has had a career resurgence this season, on Sunday the two biggest beneficiaries were rookie T.Y. Hilton (on a team-best 11 targets) and the inconsistent Donnie Avery, who both went over the 100-yard mark. In part, that was also a function of an inconsistent running game. Wayne is still the only receiver to wholly trust, but those in deep keeper leagues should have Hilton on their rosters for safe keeping.

Along with these two having monster days on the grid iron, there were a couple of players that did not have too good of days. There are bigger problems in New York these days other than football, much less fantasy production. But it was still surprising to see the top-ranked pass defense of the Steelers climb off a bus, then hold Eli Manning and the Big Blue passing game to 10-of-24 for 125 yards and no touchdowns. There are better days ahead for the Giants, but a tip of the hat to the Steelers who continue to be a matchup landmine for opposing fantasy owners.


From the "Stop Me When You've Heard This One Before" file, I give you Raiders running back Darren McFadden. It's been a strange year for Run DMC, who started the season being more effective catching the ball and despite flashes overall, is averaging a paltry 3.3 yards per carry and has two rushing touchdowns. He's never made it a full 16 games in the regular season and yesterday's leg injury shows why it's so hard for fantasy owners to trust him. Owners should grab Mike Goodson for a handcuff if they can, of if Goodson is too injured to go, target a Marcel Reece.

All in all some Fantasy owners should be happy with their players, provided they had Luck or Martin. On the other side of things they probably don't feel to good about themselves if they have the Giants D, or McFadden. My advice is that if you have any of these players I would stick it out with Martin, Luck and I would stick it out with the Giants D. As for McFadden I would be looking around for other options.

If you would like to know more
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/fantasy/11/05/fantasy-football-awards-week9/index.html#ixzz2BNWto6B5

Until next time,
You keep doing what your doing, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports

World Series Sweep

Hey All,

Last night was game four of the MLB World Series, and it was one for the ages. It was San Francisco's to loss from game one. After they gave Verlander a run for his money, I knew that the Giants would have yet another World Series Title.

The Giants were able to sweep the Tigers and take home their second Title in just 3 years. Their win Sunday was do in large part to their pitching. It was outstanding throughout the playoffs. Now let's take a look at who produced in critical times for the Giants.

 Marco Scutaro, who else? delivered one more key hit this October, a go-ahead single with two outs in the 10th inning that lifted the Giants to a 4-3 win.

On a night of biting cold, stiff breezes and some rain, the Giants combined the most important elements of championship baseball. After three straight wins that looked relatively easy, they sealed this victory when Sergio Romo got Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera to look at strike three for the final out. ''Tonight was a battle,'' Giants star Buster Posey said. ''And I think tonight was a fitting way for us to end it because those guys played hard. They didn't stop, and it's an unbelievable feeling.'' ''Detroit probably didn't know what it was in for,'' Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. ''Our guys had a date with destiny.''


''Tonight was a battle,'' Giants star Buster Posey said. ''And I think tonight was a fitting way for us to end it because those guys played hard. They didn't stop, and it's an unbelievable feeling.''

Posey, the only player who was in the starting lineup when San Francisco beat Texas in the 2010 clincher, and the underdog Giants celebrated in the center of the diamond at Comerica Park.

Posey put the Giants ahead 3-2 with a two-run homer in the sixth and Delmon Young hit a tying home run in the bottom half. It then became a matchup of bullpens, and the Giants prevailed. Ryan Theriot led off the 10th with a single against Phil Coke, moved up on Brandon Crawford's sacrifice and scored on a shallow single by Scutaro, the MVP of the NL championship series. Center fielder Austin Jackson made a throw home, to no avail.


I think what happened to Detroit was the layoff that they had from sweeping the Yankee's in the ALCS. They had more than a week off, and you would think that would help a team, yet it did not. The only thing the layoff did for the Tigers was make them sloppy. The pitching was horrendous, they bats disappeared, and  the players just looked like they didn't care anymore. But what surprised me the most, was how quick this postseason went for the MLB. It was over in a blink of an eye. The excitement of late inning games, and game 7's, just didn't happen this season. It's quite sad to see, if you love baseball, you just don't want it to end.

I'm sorry to have to say this to you baseball lovers out there, but it's Football season, and hopefully soon it will be Hockey season. All good things must come to an end, and for the Tigers, it ended in extra innings in game four of the World Series.

Read more at http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/san-francisco-giants-beat-detroit-tigers-four-games-win-world-series-02812

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

Fantasy Football Surprises

Hey All,

Today, I want to talk about some of the players that have surprised me in the NFL as of late. That could either be a good surprise, or a bad one. Also I think this will help out many of you in the Fantasy Football world.

So as we hit the midway part of the season, let's get down to some mid-season business.

The first person I think that everyone can agree on, that's QB Robert Griffin III. Many expected Robert Griffin III would do well, but I'm not sure anyone anticipated he would be a dominant fantasy quarterback. Through Week 7 he leads the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt, and trails only Arian Foster in rushing scores.


I imagine someone will say Peyton Manning, but I was not surprised at all. Better, he's getting more comfortable with his team, the offense, the coaches and his own limitations. He's going to be scary in the second half. Peyton Manning has been surprisingly close to his elite form. Griffin is out-Cam Newton-ing the famed "greatest rookie quarterback ever," and late-round rookie Alfred Morris is rolling with the big boys, producing near the level of Arian Foster and Ray Rice.


My biggest surprise has been Mike Shanahan, who committed to a rookie backfield that has allowed two of fantasy football's brightest stars, Griffin III and his unheralded-yet-equally valuable running back, Morris, to thrive. Given improvements and better health at wide receiver over the offseason Griffin and Morris will find themselves among the fantasy elite for years to come. And they may even put to rest Shanahan's anti-fantasy owner reputation. I did not expect to write about the Redskins as much as I have and that's a good thing for them.


The other major surprise has been Adrian Peterson's comeback. Around now is when we all thought we'd start seeing the "real" Peterson starting to round into shape. Instead, he's been valuable from Day 1,ranking as the league's third-best back this year so far. A miracle of modern sports medicine and training is what Peterson has been.

That has been the players, fantasy wise, that have surprised me. Now let's take a look at who has been a bit of a disappointment fantasy wise this season




LeSean McCoy was a top-3 pick in most fantasy drafts this summer, but he hasn't lived up to that billing. He has averaged just 4.1 yards per carry, just 4.5 yards per reception, and has reached 100 yards from scrimmage just once in his last five outings (he reached that mark in 10 of 15 games last year). Throw Darren McFadden, Cam Newton and Matthew Stafford into the debate, as well.


Newton. He's done nothing, but all the talent is still there. I think a lot of the problem is the team -- they've abandoned the run, leaving Newton to do it all and he just can't. I think this could end up being good for him in the long run, but he doesn't seem to be learning and that worries me a bit. The plus is that he's healthy, but that makes it even more confounding that he could vanish like this. Then again, notice that Ponder is a positive surprise and Newton is a bust -- but they're four points apart on the season. The difference is value and clearly Newton was drafted much higher and weighted with unrealistic expectations.


After Monday night, you're going to hear a lot of audible complaints from Stafford and Calvin Johnson owners. Megatron, specifically, came into the season as the most dominant player at his position in fantasy, a lone wolf, but he has barely performed like a starter in a standard 12-team, two-receiver league. A number of second-tier backs can make a case, including one assumed first-tier one in McCoy, and Jimmy Graham certainly qualifies as a bust relative to draft position. But, in the end, those guys should pay their owners back. It's hard to be as certain with the Panthers' Newton. He looks like a beaten man and his fantasy owners are, too. If someone would've told me that Stafford would have fallen so far down the quarterback totem pole that he'd find himself behind the likes of Christian Ponder, Mark Sanchez, Brandon Weeden and Alex Smith, I would've said you were crazy, but Detroit is unraveling and Stafford's less-than-inspired play is a major cause. Also getting dishonorable mention is Darren McFadden (Who would've believed that he'd remain healthy yet still be a bust?).


These are just some of the views of the writes of Sports Illustrated. To be honest I couldn't agree with them more. These players have not impressed me at all. They all had this big buzz around them coming into this seaosn, and they have let everyone down. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/fantasy/10/22/fantasy-football-roundtable/index.html#ixzz2AG58BrTg


Until next time,\
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

Top 4 Players To Keep an Eye On

Hey All,

 Today I will like to talk about some key players around the NFL who are either hurt or will not be with the team as of 2013.

First player on my list is Green Bay Packers Charles Woodson, FS. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Silverstein, he believes that this will be Woodson's last year with the team. The reason Silverstein says it will be his last season with the Packers is because Woodson's Salary of $9 Million will be "too odious for the Packers to pay a 36-year-old Corner coming off a broken collarbone."  Truth is I think Woodson's age is finally catching up to him. His play has slipped of the past year, but to say that he won't be able to produce in 2013 is outrageous. If it comes done to it, and he is not on the team, he will make for an interesting open market in the NFL.

Next on my list is Victor Cruz of the New York Giants, WR. Cruz is looking for a long-term deal by the offseason. Cruz is scheduled to be a restricted free agent this offseason. He has gone on record saying "We don't want to drag it along and (have it) become something that blocks the team in the offseason, and something that's in the media every day." He also said "We want to just knock it out halfway through the season, or during the season at the very least, and put it behind." Cruz never considered a holdout last summer, but in the midst of another monster campaign, it wouldn't be surprising if he resisted simply being slapped with the RFA tender. Locking him up is almost certainly a top priority for the G-Men as he is one of Eli's main targets, and a huge deep threat.

Sean Lee, LB, for the Dallas Cowboys is next on my players to watch list. ESPN Dallas reports that the Sean Lee will need season-ending  surgery on his right big toe. Two NFL Network insiders confirm the report, and Fox Sports Southwest is told the injury is similar to Felix Jones' season-ending torn toe ligament in 2008. The Cowboys have a capable backup in veteran Dan Connor, but this would be a devastating loss for their defense. Lee has been arguable the NFL'stop inside linebacker through seven weeks, racking up 58 tackles with four passes defensed. With freakish closing speed, the IDP stud has been elite in run support and above average in coverage. Now I still think this is a huge loss for the boys, as they have not been the best defensive team this year, and this can't do anything but hurt them this season.

The last player I will talk about is QB Kevin Kolb of the Arizona Cardinals. Although he expects to play again this season, Kolb (ribs/shoulder) acknowledges there is no timetable set for him to return. "Unfortunately they can't tell me because of the severity of it," Kolb said. "Every Monday and Wednesday when I meet with the doctors, I ask them 'Hey give me a timetable.' And they won't do it. At least until another couple weeks where things settle back in like they're supposed to." I'm not expecting to see Kolb back on the field until after Thanksgiving. The Cardinals have a very capable backup in Skelton in the time being. Skelton should fill in the roll nicely until Kolb is healthy enough to return to action.

Those are the players I believe that will affect their teams if something major doesn't happen soon. There are plenty more players to talk about but I don't want to have you fine people bored with that so there's my top 4 players to keep an eye on, and possible loss them from your fantasy team if need be.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

The Collapse of The Pirates

Hey All,

Today is a very sad day in the land of the Burg. It's now October and the battlin buccos should be preparing for the postseason, but yet they are not. Following the worst half of baseball that I have ever seen in my life. The Pirates have now had 20 straight losing seasons. That sets an MLB record, a record no team what's to hold. Unforchantaly the Buccos own that record.

The Pirates fell apart right after the trade deadline. There was no stopping it, the management had made its decision. They should have kept the team as it was when they were winning, instead of trying to bring a new comer in. Pedro Alvarez said it the best, "we should have kept all of us together, and not try and make some big move."

If you look back on when the Bucs were winning, you'll notice that they were just out there to have fun and play baseball. Between throwing up the Zoltan Z after every hit, and the pitchers having more enthusiasm after every pitch, that was when the Pirates were winning games. Then the pressure got to them after the All Star break and they fell apart.

Do I think Wandy Rodriguez was a bad pick up, no, but I don't believe he was a good fit in the Pirates pitching rotation. When manager Clint Hurdle moved around the starting rotation is when he got into pitcher James McDonald's head and his "stuff" wasn't there anymore. He was in the heads of his players. Hurdle shouldn't have picked up a pitcher, but rather pick up a position player to help out the hitting. The Pirates weren't losing games by much, in the first half of the season, just by 1 or 2 runs. If they would have brought in a big bat to help out, I think I'd be talking about how far the Bucs are going to go into the playoffs, rather than them missing it yet again and having an under .500 season.

The last thing the bugs me about the Pirates season was the fans chanting "MVP!! MVP!!! MVP!!!" every time McCutchen got up to bat. Do I think he had a chance at it, in the first half of the season, yes. Do I think he carried that team at that time, yes. Do I think if they had a first half MVP as well as a second half MVP that he would have won it, yes. But that does not mean that he is going to get it. Yes I know he was batting in the 400's and his slugging and on base percentage were outrageous, but by no means was he in MVP forum.

All in all the Pirates had a good season, and have a lot of room for improvement. I've said this countless times but if they can find and put a team together that works, and that is winning an having fun, they will be a nice team and can make a good run for October and the postseason.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.