Hester aims to be Hall’s first returner

by | Nov 15, 2011 | Hall of Fame, NFL Random Thoughts

Is Devin Hester Hall of Fame worthy?

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I almost always read Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback column. Sports Illustrated’s top football guy always has some interesting nuggets.

This week I was struck by a quote King got from Chicago return man Devin Hester, who lit up the Detroit Lions this weekend with an 82-yard punt return touchdown and numerous other long returns.

Hester told King he wants to be the first returner in the league to get voted into the Hall of Fame. I thought the comment was interesting for a couple reasons. First, it’s an acknowledgement on the part of Hester that he is known almost solely for his return work, as his play at wide receiver has been average, at best.

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Forte equal to Peterson? Not even close

by | Jul 20, 2011 | NFL Random Thoughts

Sometimes sports statisticians find new measurements that shed light on players in ways that old numbers never did.

Sometimes they try a little too hard.

The latter happened today to KC Joyner, who calls himself the Football Scientist, when he tried to convince himself that Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte “stacks up evenly with” the Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson.

Now, are there things Forte does better than Peterson? Yes. He is a better receiver out of the backfield. Forte has 51, 57 and 63 catches in his three seasons. Peterson is not terrible catching the ball, with 119 catches in four years, but I would give the Bear the nod in that area.

I’m not an expert in pass blocking either, but the Vikings routinely remove Peterson from games on third downs. Joyner claims Forte is a better blocker. Some seem to agree he prevented Jay Cutler from getting killed at times. I haven’t seen enough to judge so I’ll concede the point (though at least some seem to feel Forte and his fellow backs could improve in this area).

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Championship Sunday picks

by | Jan 23, 2011 | NFL Picks

It’s time for me to throw up my hands and admit that I’m just not going to get my arms around the 2010 season. Every time I think I’ve got it figured out someone throws another curve ball and I end up .500 in picks. But it’s too late to stop now.

We find out today who plays in the Super Bowl. I have hunches, but I can see scenarios where any of the four teams move on. Here’s my guess (http://www2.vegas.com/gaming/):

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NFL playoffs continue with divisional games

by | Jan 15, 2011 | NFL Picks, NFL Random Thoughts

I haven’t had a very good handle on the NFC all season long. I thought the Bears were going to suck. I was wrong. I thought the 49ers were going to win the NFC West. I was wrong — although in fairness to me, there really wasn’t a team that ended up deserving to win that putrid, dreck-filled division.

Anyway, the trend continued last week. I hit the two AFC matchups, even nailing the scenario in which the Jets would beat Indy, almost to a T.

But the NFC games stymied me. But what the hell. Let’s have another go at it this week, eh? (Pointspreads via Vegas.com)

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