Sunday to be Super for Colts or Saints?

by | Feb 7, 2010 | NFL Gambling, NFL Picks

I don’t know if it means I know something or if it was a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut, but I nailed the conference championships, picking the Colts to beat the Jets both straight up and against the spread while guessing the Vikings would beat the spread but lose a close one to New Orleans. That puts me at 7-3 straight up and 6-4 against Vegas lines for the playoffs. And so on to the Super Bowl.

Straight up: Colts
Spread: Saints +5

The Super Bowl presents another intriguing match-up between two high-powered offenses going against defenses that have been vulnerable at times this season.

Among the most interesting aspects of this tilt will be the quarterback duel between Peyton Manning and Drew Brees – a match-up that brings back memories of Staubach vs Bradshaw or Montana vs Elway. With Dwight Freeney injured and either out or playing at less than full strength and the Saints sporting a very good offensive line, I expect Brees to have plenty of time to throw. The same should be true of Manning, who is rarely sacked.

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Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 Announced

by | Feb 6, 2010 | Hall of Fame

Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith were the two shoe-ins for election into the NFL Hall of Fame this year. The rest of the class was a crapshoot. But in the end another deserving class of players got the call they had been waiting for.

Stephen A. Perry, the president and executive director of the Hall of Fame, made the announcement this afternoon on the NFL Network.

The Class of 2010 is:
WR Jerry Rice
RB Emmitt Smith
DL John Randle
LB Rickey Jackson
OL Russ Grimm
RB Floyd Little*
DB Dick LeBeau*
*Senior candidate

While the entrants are deserving some of the guys who didn’t make it are surprising. Cris Carter was left out again, not even making the list of 10 finalists. Neither did Tim Brown. Shannon Sharpe made the final 10, but didn’t survive the final cut. Charles Haley and Richard Dent also have to wait at least another year.

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NFL announced Team of the Decade for 2000s

by | Feb 1, 2010 | Hall of Fame, NFL Random Thoughts

The NFL Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced its Team of the Decades for the 2000s last night during the Pro Bowl. There weren’t a ton of surprises on the list.

Comments at a few sites have made cases for guys like Priest Holmes and Torry Holt. I can see their points but I also have little disagreement with the players that were picked. Theirs seems largely in tune with the one we published a year ago.

Any major disagreements (Real ones, not complaints about the timing of the list being off because of the calendar starting at year one and not year zero)? Guys you think should have been on the list?

Here’s the list:

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Cardinal fantasy prospects take hit with Warner retirement

by | Jan 29, 2010 | Fantasy Football

With Kurt Warner retiring Matt Leinart retakes the helm in Arizona, at least for now. If the Cardinals settle for roster status quo, that puts the fantasy football fates of superstars like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in the hands of a quarterback who has thrown for fewer than 4,000 yards and just 14 touchdowns since being drafted in 2006.

Zoneblitz.com expects the fantasy stats of nearly all Cardinals to take a hit, at least through the early portions of the 2010 season. Anthony Maggio, who is a freelance sports writer, a contributor to FantasyFootballChamps.com and the owner of the Punting Baxter blog, agrees that Warner’s retirement isn’t good news on the fantasy football scene.

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With Warner’s retirement the Hall of Fame discussion begins

by | Jan 29, 2010 | Hall of Fame, NFL Random Thoughts

This topic has been addressed before both here and in other places, but now, as Kurt Warner’s career comes to an end (assuming he doesn’t become the next Brett Favre) the debate surrounding arguably one of the most interesting Hall of Fame case studies out there can begin in earnest.

Warner finishes his career with 208 touchdown passes, which doesn’t put him in the top 20 all-time. With 32,344 yards passing, he falls short of the top 20 there, as well.

He was named to four Pro Bowls and was a first team All-Pro just twice. That’s also decent but not overwhelming.

On the other hand, the man led the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He led in touchdown passes in 1999 and 2001 and yards in 2001, as well.

More importantly, he took three teams to Super Bowl appearances in 12 seasons, winning one with the Greatest Show on Turf and coming close in the other two.

Especially impressive, to me anyway, was the third one last year when he took the long moribund Arizona Cardinals on a playoff ride to remember. He came within a couple minutes of leading the Birds to an upset over the far superior Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, he wasn’t especially durable. In the 11 seasons starting with the year he took over the helm in St. Louis through this year, he played 16 games just three times. But it’s also important to remember that the accomplishments he did compile started in 1999 when he was already 28 years old.

So, there’s a synopsis. Do the ring and multiple Super Bowl appearances win out? Or does the late start to Warner’s career keep him out?