Friday, September 21, 2012

Cowboys and Giants: The consistent of inconsistent

By Joseph Landini
High Heat Network
http://highheatnet.blogspot.com/2012/09/cowboys-and-giants-consistent-of.html
Last night the New York Giants went into Carolina and were hitting on every aspect of the game. One week prior, the Giants struggled to defend a weary offense and needed a second half comeback to defeat a last place team from last year. The Cowboys in Week 1 seemed to silence all critics, as Tony Romo looked like a top Quarterback and the team as a whole took out the Super Bowl champs. Through three Giants games and two Cowboys games, a pattern is starting to form that there two teams are consistently inconsistent.

After beating the Super Bowl Giants in Week 1 at Metlife Stadium on banner night, the Cowboys were set to have an impressive season. Romo threw for 307 yards with three touchdowns and outplayed the two time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning. Dallas' run game, headed by Demarco Murray was strong, breaking through the defensive line of Osi Umenyora, Jason Pierre Paul, and Justin Tuck. The shock of them all was that Romo seemed to find a new target in Kevin Ogletree, who had 114 yards and two touchdowns. Everything on opening night was working for the Cowboys.

The next week seemed like a cupcake game for Dallas, as they were going up against Seattle, who took a loss the week before to Arizona. Defensively, Dallas gave up 27 points and let rookie Quarterback Russell Wilson pass efficiently (15-20, 151 yards, one touchdown). The offensive side of the ball was putrid, only scoring once and Romo was a ghost of the week before. He threw 17 incomplete passes and only averaged 6.3 yards per completion. Ogletree was only targeted once after the stellar opening game.  Dallas missed on a huge opportunity to be 2-0, and now will play host to the Buccaneers Sunday.

The Giants fell flat on their face opening night to the Cowboys as they were outplayed and coached in every aspect of the game. Last week, the Giants hosted Tampa Bay, who was riding high after defeating division rival Carolina in Week 1. After a struggled first half, behind three Eli Manning interceptions, the Giants trailed 24-13. After halftime though, Eli started playing ELIte. Throwing for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Manning finished his day with an outstanding 510 yards. Both Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz had over 175 yard receiving and over 10 catches. The Giants woke up and over came a second half 14 point deficit.

Last night, despite not having starters Ahmad Bradshaw, David Diehl, and Hakeem Nicks, the Giants stepped up once again. Bradshaw was not missed, as fill in Andre Brown carried the ball 20 times for 113 yards with two touchdowns. The same could be said for Nicks, as no name Ramsey Barden caught 9 passes for 138 yards in the winning effort. The defense was all over Cam Newton, as the former number one pick was held to 40.6 Quarterback rating. Newton, who seemed frustrated all night, looked like a shell of himself. The Giants improved to 2-1, and will now wait over a week to play the currently undefeated Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football.

Two and a half weeks in we have seen the best and worst of both the Giants and Cowboys. Attempting to gauge where these two teams will be at season end is impossible. The little we can gauge though, is that both teams have shown their flashes of greatness. In a division loaded with talent, the question is: can these two inconsistent teams survive their grueling 16 game schedule?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Clemson/Florida State: For a National Title spot?

By Joseph Landini
High Heat Network
http://highheatnet.blogspot.com/2012/09/clemsonflorida-state-for-national-title.html

This Saturday night's ACC contest between Clemson and Florida State has become nothing short of the conference's biggest game of the year. What some may not realize is that not only is it the biggest game for the ACC, but may be the most important for the national title picture so far.

Last Saturday the ACC saw one of it's major players in the title picture fall, as Virginia Tech's sloppy play cost them a game against a putrid Pittsburgh team, who already lost to an unknown Youngstown State and been blown out to Cincinnati. With Tech out of the race, #10 Clemson will visit #4 Florida State in a game that may ultimately catapult the winner into the National Title game. With plenty of teams undefeated, it may be hard to tell who will be there at the end still standing, but for both Clemson and Florida State the road may be easier.

After Saturday's contest against Clemson, Florida State will have only ONE game remaining against a top 25 team (November 24th vs #14 Florida). Although the rankings of a team may not matter much earlier, this is significantly easier then an LSU or Oregon. LSU still has four games against top 25 opponents, including a November 3rd match up vs #1 Alabama. Oregon has two left against the nation's finest, as they are still set to play #9 Stanford and Matt Barkley's #13 USC Trojans. The road to being undefeated is at the winner of Saturday's contest fingertips.

Clemson will be coming off three straight wins, with Quarterback Tajh Boyd playing some of the best football in his young career. Boyd has over 700 yards in the air to go with six touchdowns and one interception. On the other end, Florida State is going about business per usual, sporting a 3-0 record and owning the nation's top defense. The Seminoles defense has only given up three points total in three games played (Field Goal to Murray State). The offense has also been something on the positive end, as they are the nation's second best offense (58.7 ppg). Florida State is hitting on every cylinder coming into this match up.

With Florida State's national championship hopes being tarnished last year by Clemson, the Seminoles will likely be all business Saturday. Even though college football is only in it's fourth week, the stakes could not be higher when these two ACC power houses collide.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Vick hurt again, can Eagles survive?

By: Joseph Landini
High Heat Network
http://highheatnet.blogspot.com/2012/08/vick-hurt-again-can-eagles-survive.html

After two preseason games the Philadelphia Eagles already have to worry about their $100 million dollar injury prone Quarterback Michael Vick.

In week one of the preseason, Vick had to leave after hitting his hand on his own center's helmet following through on a pass. X-Rays were negative, he was able to practice and be ready for a Monday night preseason showdown with the Patriots. On Monday night, Vick was back in action for the Eagles continuing to prep for what seems to be a promising season. The Eagles organization and fans had to gasp for air again though, when Patriot Jermaine Cunningham made a hard hit on Vick, and left him laying on the ground. Vick once again left the game, leaving the Eagles with uncertainty.

Ever since last off-season, the Eagles have been the main hype of the NFL, with their speedy talent and flashy play. Unfortunately, that was all it was last year in an 8-8 no playoff year, hype. Many analyst and experts have the Eagles slated to once again go deep into the playoffs, but that will only happen if their main attraction under center is healthy. Plain and simple, the Eagles will live and die on the legs and left arm of Michael Vick.

Last season the Eagles started off slow and struggled with consistency the entire year. Vick dealt with injuries, which seemed to come almost every week. In Week 2 against the Falcons last season, Vick suffered a helmet to helmet blow and had to sit the rest of the game with a concussion. He followed up in Week 3 against the Giants by getting hit to the ground again, this time suffering a hand injury. He did not finish that game either. A few weeks later against the Redskins, Vick suffered another helmet to helmet. Despite coming up wobbly and missing a few plays, Vick finished the game this time. Week 10 against the Cardinals was not necessarily ideal, as Vick broke two ribs on the second play of the game. Despite the injury, Vick fought through to finish this contest as well.

With Vick coming on and off the field so constantly last season, inconsistency from the Eagles was bound to occur. The other trouble on the team, Desean Jackson, was directly affected by Vick's constant injury play. Jackson was vocally upset about the team, the organization, and his contract. With Vick, a vertical passer, out of the lineup, Jackson's role was diminished for most the season. Days ago, Jackson came out and said that did not give it his all last season, which of course is a major red flag. After finally getting his contract (5 years, $51 million), the Eagles need Jackson to be explosive on the field, which will also lie on the left arm of Vick. If Vick is on the field, Jackson gets the ball and can use his speed. If Vick is hurt, Jackson will again be minimized, and may once again become vocally upset.

It has become apparent that the two issues with Vick's health is that he does not protect himself, and that his offensive line has not been able to keep the $100 million dollar investment safe. If Vick can be knowledgeable enough to save himself pain on plays, it may do wonders for the Eagles season. The offensive line will also have to block a lot better despite the speed Vick can bring in the scramble game. If Vick does get injured seriously, the lack of a back up battle tested Quarterback could easily end the Eagles chances at the playoffs. With Vince Young now backing up Ryan Fitzpatrick in Buffalo, Mike Kafka (4 career games) better be ready at any moment.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of talent in their prime, with a lot of money invested in those players. A Super Bowl is absolutely in the cards for this team if they can stay on the field and put the talent together. The main trigger to this wheel though is Vick. If healthy and effective Vick is the most dangerous QB in the game and the Eagles will be bound for at least the post season. If not healthy though, the Eagles can expect another let down non playoff season.

Vick's scheduled to have an MRI and CT scan on his ribs today came back negative. The Eagles next preseason contest will be Friday (8/24) against the Cleveland Browns. Michael Vick may sit out the rest of the <strike><strike></strike></strike>preseason so he is ready for Week 1.

Friday, February 3, 2012

The Element of Super-Wideout

Every Super Bowl there is a special player who rises up and takes over the game. Whether it is putting the team on their back, or making the show stealing touchdown. The Wide Receiver position has become the most important element of the Super Bowl, as every year in the recent past, one player makes a career for them self. Lets take a trip down memory lane.

Last year in Super Bowl XLV, the Packers and Steelers took the field. Each team had wide outs who were playing big, and both deserving of this article. Pittsburgh's Mike Wallace made a name for himself, as he caught pass after pass, and big ones at that. His strong performance last year kick started into this year, where he became the Steelers top wide out, and again making electrifying plays. As for the victors, Green Bay has the names Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, but did anyone expect Jordy Nelson to be THE guy? The answer is obviously no. Nelson caught 9 balls for 140 yards and a touchdown. Nelson was a star on the grandest stage of them all, setting up a promising career.

Other notables when it comes to great performances in the Super Bowl are Deion Branch in Super Bowl XXXIX, where he caught a record 11 passes, and racked up 133 yards. Santonio Holmes, another Super Bowl MVP, kick started his career by catching 9 passes for 131 yards, and the game winning touchdown. Holmes, although controversial, is now the top WR money wise. We can go on and on about how young WR's made a name for themself in the past, but what about this Sunday?

This Sunday features a Super Bowl rematch between the Giants and Patriots. My prediction has already been made, and I encourage you to check out my Super Bowl podcast: http://vimeo.com/36156542

This year's offenses are loaded with talent, and plenty of guys worthy of being a breakout, but one guy in my mind will shine above all. It won't be Tom Brady's favorite target Wes Welker, and sure won't be the humbled Chad Ochocinco. Eli's main targets have been Hakeem Nicks, and undrafted salsa man Victor Cruz. The man I have my eye on is Mario Manningham. Manningham, who was the Giants number 2 reciever before injury, is now Eli's third or fourth option. I feel like Manningham can use this game to put his name back on the map. If there is a time to do it, here it is. With the Patriots sure to take Cruz or Nicks out of this game, you know Manningham will have his chances in the three wideout sets. Keep an eye on this former Michigan standout, he sure will not disappoint.

Manning to Manningham, watch it happen...