New Orleans Saints

a bit more impressive with wins over the Ravens, Tampa Bay, and defending the Super Bowl Champions New Orleans Saints. Green Bay has Atlanta, Philly and the Jets notched on their belt. 

Continue reading "Best In the League?"

While statistically they’re equal, Brees remarkably recovered from the injury and led the New Orleans Saints to a 2009 Super Bowl Championship while Rivers came up short against the New York Jets. 

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 7"

Before the first preseason game, the Patriots held a ceremony to induct RB Sam “Bam” Cunningham into the Patriots Hall of Fame. He was joined on stage by owner Bob Kraft and fellow HoFers LB Andre Tippett, QB Steve Grogan, CB Michael Haynes, K-WR Gino Cappelletti, LB Steve Nelson, and G John Hannah. Not only was I there, but I was fortunate enough to shake Cunningham’s hand and say congratulations to the newest member while wearing his throwback jersey (thanks to Bob Hyldburg for making that opportunity happen). 

Continue reading "Pick Six: Preseason Game 1"

I thought Logan Mankins was going to be different. I believed he could conduct his contract negotiations privately. Because he kept a low profile after the season and through the draft, I figured Mankins would continue to keep his distance from the Patriots and let his agent and New England hammer out a new deal. 

Continue reading "No Audience for Mankins' Moans"

A day after the NFL Network revealed San Diego shopped OLB Shawn Merriman during the NFL Draft to New Orleans and two other teams, the Patriots re-signed DE Derrick Burgess. Knowing what is out there, Burgess’ return doesn’t excite the fan base much. 

Continue reading "A "Lights Out" Alternative"

If your jaw dropped five feet from the amount of Jahri Evans’ new contract, understand a smile of equal distance stretched across the face of Logan Mankins’ agent Frank Bauer. 

In case you missed it, before the Lawrence Taylor arrest and JaMarcus Russell’s release (talk about polar opposite stories – Taylor goes to a New York prison while Russell gets out of Oakland, which replicates the depressing hopelessness found behind bars), the Saints agreed to pay Evans $56.7 million over seven years, the biggest contract in NFL history for a guard. 

Continue reading "Market Value Set for Mankins"

Because I’ve been immersed in my mock draft and inspired to write a few articles, I haven’t posted for a while. During this time, a lot of news regarding the Patriots crossed the news wire. I should had said a little something about every bit of news, but I was distracted. 

Continue reading "Steps Behind"

Wow, the weeks after the Patriots lose are certainly depressing. This is the 4th time in 2009 that I've found myself entering a football-free bubble. When the Patriots win I pretty much watch every bit of football news I can get my eyes on. Everyone loves to hear all the commentators glow over their team.

Continue reading "Patriots Turn the Page to the Miami Dolphins"

Seems to me like many Patriots fans out there aren't quite as depressed by last night's debacle as they were after the loss to the Colts. Around this time every year you start to really know how good your team is, or isn't. The Saints are good. Really good. The Patriots are not.

Continue reading "Picking Up the Patriots Pieces"

As I watched the Patriots get beat down by the Saints, I couldn’t stop thinking about an article I wrote earlier this season called “ Love Letters.” The idea was I wrote two letters from the fans perspective to DL Richard Seymour and WR Jabar Gaffney. The letters pointed out how the team missed their contributions on the field. 

Continue reading "Pick Six: Week 12"

Who dares taunt the Football Gods? Thy name is Reggie Bush. 

Back in October, the New Orleans running back was asked if the Saints could go undefeated. He answered with, “"Can we go undefeated? Yes.  I do think we have the players, the chemistry, we have the heart and dedication, the coaching staff, we have the players." 

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 12"

The Patriots are already deep into preparations for the undefeated New Orleans Saints, possibly the toughest opponent of the year. Any news outside of their scope of focus is a distraction. 

Continue reading "Bill Belichick's Nemesis"

Just like the Patriots addressed the secondary with defending tall receivers in mind, the Miami Dolphins did the same in the off-season. The difference was the source of the remedy. 

New England signed free agent veteran cornerbacks Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden. Miami went the younger route and drafted Vonta Davis and Sean Smith. 

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 9"

Alright, Tom Brady. The grace period is over. Now it’s time to be yourself again. That means the accurate surgeon capable of lighting up the scoreboard with few errors should finally be back. You’ve had enough time to work out the kinks. No more excuses. 

Continue reading "The Real Tom Brady"

Hopefully RB Laurence Maroney doesn’t think he’s off the hook after rushing for 123 yards (7.7 average) and a score. If anything, the expectations have gone up. It’s nice to see you blow up in one game as the undisputed primary ball carrier. But can you do this week after week after week? 

Continue reading "Staying On the Run"

I’m not much of a poker player, but since the beginning of training camp, head coach Bill Belichick has been exchanging cards, looking for a full house. 

They looked at QB Cleo Lemon. DE Kevin Carter seems to be getting serious consideration. QB Matt Gutierrez was cut and QB Andrew Walter signed to replace Gutz. 

Continue reading "Ninkovich in the Cards"

In the world of journalism, it's the greatest compliment when an article you wrote inspires others to express their own opinion on the same subject.

Back in February, I wrote an article asking the question should teams draft tight ends in the first round. It was a relevant question because Oklahoma State's Brandon Pettigrew could be the only TE selected within the first 32 picks.

Continue reading "Great Minds Think Alike"

 As football fans across the globe cast their longing eyes in the direction of the April draft, I decided that now might be a good time to reflect on draft classes of the last 10 years. Too often in this business, we rush ahead to the next big event without taking pause to evaluate the past and learn from it. In a way, this study will still be a celebration of the coming 2009 draft as I believe it will shed some light on certain overlooked trends that no one ever stops to consider. I will begin with a class by class showdown of sorts at the quarterback position over the last 10 drafts.  This is part II in the series:

Continue reading "NFL Quarterback Draft Class Showdown: 2002 vs 2001"

Brett Lorenzo Favre, the beloved gunslinger from Southern Mississippi who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, made his first pass completion on his way to prominence as a Packer to himself and adorned a New York Jets uniform in his final season, announced his retirement yesterday…again.

Continue reading "Favre Retires. Finally. I Think."

About a couple of weeks ago, I was talking with a co-worker about the current state of the Patriots. He suggested that maybe the team would be better off tanking for better draft position as opposed to trying to get into the playoffs because they'd probably get bounced out early.

Continue reading "Playoffs or Draft?"

This is an ongoing record of the funniest sport quotes from the major and local sports talk shows like ATH, PTI, Jim Rome, etc.  Feel free to contribute some of you own from TV and radio or comment on the ones you see here. Your new quotes will be integrated daily as part of the ongoing record.  To post a quote or make a comment just follow the comment link at the bottom.

Continue reading "Funny Sports Quotes Returns!!"

Check it. A quick review. About two weeks ago against the Jets, Matt Cassel becomes the first player to pass for 400 yards and run for 60-plus. The following week he throws for 415 yards, becoming the first Patriot to throw two consecutive 400-yard games.

Continue reading "Getting the Most Out of Cassel"

A week filled with late game nervousness and dominant performances. The Texans were the ones doing the prowling as they tore apart the Bengals. 'America's Team' didn't look so sharp, but they found a way to win. The NFL brought a real shootout to London (hopefully no one was hurt!) and Brett Favre didn't look good for the second consecutive week, but thankfully for the Jets, they played the Chiefs. I'll cover those games in this week's Fallout report!

Continue reading "NFL Week 8 Fallout"

Are these Rams for real?

St. Louis was the 98-pound weakling just three weeks ago. But they changed coaches from Scott Linehan to Jim Haslett and now they're Ram tough? They lost by an average of 26 points in the first month. All of a sudden they bounce back and upset the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 8"

's Record: 3-1

*Classic NFL Films music hits*

1) San Diego Chargers @ New Orleans Saints

Saints are slated to be the home team in this one as the NFL heads overseas to play at London's Wembley Stadium for a second consecutive season. Giants and the Dolphins played last season in a soggy-rainy affair at 'legendary' Wembley. I remember going into that game a lot of people were like wow "Giants-Dolphins" is what we brought overseas?! Turns out...we brought the Superbowl Champions over there. Just shows any team can take the prize at the end of the tunnel. Especially this season with the NFL being more unpredictable and 'topsy curvy'. This game features two disappointments so far this season. Things however are looking worse for the Saints as lead running back Reggie Bush suffered cartilage damage in his knee against the Panthers last week. The Saints have also lost all 3 away from the Superdome. For some reason...my gut is thinking the Saints, but I'm going to pick safe here and go with the healthier team and pick San Diego.

Continue reading "NFL Week 8 Predictions"

NFC East

Week 6

Hello East Fans,

Well after a week of Hiatus to curse the football gods for my team’s embarrassing losses. I felt a preview of the Best division in Football was the only way to quench the thirst. Every team in the division except for Washington is on the road, let’s start with the leaders of the pack.

Continue reading "The East!"

We see it pretty much every week. RB Laurence Maroney dancing behind the line instead of putting his head down. Or Maroney bounces a run outside instead of accelerating through the hole.

Well the whole country knows after ESPN's NFL Live highlighted two runs by Maroney where he didn't gain the available yards when the holes were right in front of him. In both instances, he didn't initiate contact.

Continue reading "A Yard is a Yard"

While watching my Vikings play the Saints the other night, I was treated to one of the most hilarious moments I have ever had while watching an NFL game.  I don't exactly remember when in the game this was, but at some point a defensive lineman from one team jumped into the neutral zone and made the offensive lineman from the other team move.  The penalty should clearly be for offensive false start (as a defensive player is only penalized if he touches an opposing offensive player before the snap), and that is exactly what happened.  However, it was the way in which the much-maligned Ed Hochuli made the call that was so hilarious to me.  A few years ago, the NFL began cracking down on their officiating crew, most notably to get them to thoroughly explain each call made on the field.  Thus, Hochuli's statement about the false start penalty: "A defensive player jumped into the neutral zone before the snap, but that does not excuse the offensive player from false-starting, resulting in a 10-yard penalty".  I love it!!  Perhaps it was just the lateness of the hour or my lack of sleep at the time, but I found the in-depth description of that play to be absolutely hilarious!

Continue reading "One Hilarious Moment"

kley, for this generation), the recent Monday Night Football game between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints was the epitome of "Crazy".

This is my first post on this blogging system, and really, could I have picked a better game to start my Vikings coverage with?!  What I will do in this post is try to summarize and comment on the events that took place on the field on Monday night, with more in-depth commentary coming in later posts.  Here goes:

Continue reading "Crazy"

       Sean Salisbury offers his fantasy football preview for week 6 of the NFL. Check this out every week at my blog.

Continue reading "Sean Salisbury's Fantasy Preview for Week 6"

It was an interesting week in the National Football League. A few surprises, a big meltdown by one team and one bruised and battered team found a way to win a big prime-time game. Let's get right to it--game by game.

Continue reading "NFL Week 5 Fallout"

First off, I want to introduce myself. My name is Jake, I live in Houston. I'm glad I found this place. I've read a lot of bloggers material today from predictions to their favorite teams' rants, it's great. I enjoyed it. Sports, baby sports!

Continue reading "NFL Week 5 Predictions"

The Crying Game

The Terrell Owens story

Hello NFL fans,

Well here we are, week four of the third year with his last team. This will be his last team, I truly believe that. If I were an owner I would rather get a letter full of anthrax and then imprisoned IN Cuba to spend the rest of my days. The continuous onslaught of reporters and fans condemning my name and wanting my head on a stick would be too much for me to bare.

Continue reading ""

              The economic “crisis" is not that complicated. The stock market always wants positive press to continue its trading

Continue reading "Economic Crisis"

This is an ongoing record of the funniest sports' quotes from the major and local sports talk shows like ATH, PTI, Jim Rome, etc.  I missed a few during Hurricane Ike and could use your help. Feel free to contribute some of you own from TV and radio or comment on the ones you see here. Your new quotes will be integrated daily as part of the ongoing record.  To post a quote or make a comment just follow the comment link at the bottom.

Continue reading "Funny Sports Quotes"

Your favorite method of getting your football returns this week . The popular video series can be found at my blog.

Continue reading "Fantasy girl returns"

   I just wanted to let you know that I may be unable to post for a few days. I live south of Houston, near Galveston, Texas. As hurricane Ike approaches there may be power outages and loss of internet access. If that is the case, I will be unable to write my column. Remember though, there are things much more important than sports. If you need Ike information, you can go to:

Continue reading "Hurricane information"

the season.

Others major injuries around the league:

        New Orleans Saints           Marcus Colston - Out 4 to 6 weeks  (thumb) 

Continue reading "Injury Update"

Here is the great Jack Buck's poem that was given on September 17, 2001."Since this nation was founded ... under God
More than 200 years ago
We have been the bastion of freedom
The light that keeps the free world aglow

Continue reading "Jack Buck's Poem remembering 9-11"

Believe. Believe. It’s the one word in sports that says so much but says so little. You’ve seen signs in every NFL stadium at some point with this simple word. ”Believe.” When MLB baseball approaches the postseason every year, the word reappears. “Believe.” But believe in what I ask you? Do the Chicago Cubs “believe” that they will win a World Championship? Or do they “believe” that some strange twist of fate will ruin another promising season. What does your team “believe” in?

Continue reading "Believe!"

The first guess from a Patriots fan would be 56, as in the first time in 56 games that Tom Brady was not listed on the injury report, he got injured. They might have a point, but I'd have to disagree. 56 also represents the jersey number for Andre Tippett who entered the Hall of Fame in August. So 56 isn't totally unlucky.

Continue reading "Unlucky number"

NFL Week 1 Results
NY Giants 16 Wahington 7
Pittsburgh 38 Houston 17
Atlanta 34 Detroit 21
Tennessee 17 Jacksonville 10
Baltimore 17 Cincinnati 10
Philadelphia 38 St. Louis 3

Continue reading "NFL SCOREBOARD"

You can get your fantasy football updates here as well as columns, funny sports quotes, injury updates and anything else sports related. If your not already seeing this video just hit the sportspoet link and you will get everything that you need to keep up with your favorite sports teams. Thank you for visiting this site.

Continue reading "Fantasy Football Video by Sportsgirl"

This is an ongoing record of the funniest sports' quotes from the major and local sports talk shows like ATH, PTI, Jim Rome, etc.  Feel free to contribute some of you own from TV and radio or comment on the ones you see here. Your new quotes will be integrated daily as part of the ongoing record.  To post a quote or make a comment just follow the comment link at the bottom.

Continue reading "Funny Sports Quotes-September 10"

99 wins. That's the total number of wins in 2007 of the Patriots' opponents for the upcoming season. It is the easiest schedule for any team in the NFL and it already has ESPN analyst Chris Carter saying the Patriots can go undefeated in '08.

Continue reading "Schedule redux"

The New Orleans Saints, who already had a proven running back in Deuce McAllister, still selected Reggie Bush with the No.2 overall selection in last year’s NFL Draft. It was not a need pick. The Saints simply could not pass on the talent of a player like Reggie Bush. The Browns cannot afford to bypass Adrian Peterson.

Continue reading "If He's There, Peterson is the Pick ..."