2012 Wild Card Preview: Detroit vs. New Orleans
This is the second of four posts this week examining the Wild Card matchups in the NFL Playoffs. Check back during the next few days for more previews:
The New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions open up the NFC Wild Card games on Saturday at 8 ET on NBC in New Orleans. The Saints haven’t lost since week eight and has won by more than 20 points in its past three games. The Lions have won three of their last four, but gave up 45 points in a loss to the Green Bay Packers Sunday in a game that Aaron Rodgers didn’t play. In their one meeting this year, New Orleans defeated Detroit 31- 17 behind 342 yards and three touchdowns from Drew Brees. Here’s a look at the matchup:
Offense: For New Orleans, this is all about Drew Brees, who sent an NFL record with 5476 passing yards in the season and is neck and neck with Aaron Rodgers for the MVP award. While running back Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas combined to rush for just 1165 yards, they averaged nearly six yards a rush. Brees moved the ball around to his receivers, with Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston his favorite targets.
Detroit’s Matthew Stafford wasn’t too shabby either, throwing for more than 5000 yards as well and 41 touchdowns. Stafford looked to wide receiver Calvin Johnson the most as the two connected on 96 passes for 1681 yards and 16 touchdowns. On the ground, the Lions weren’t as effective as running backs Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith combined for just 746 yards, less than four yards a carry. Read more…
Rangers Defeat Flyers in Great Winter Classic
The fifth edition of the NHL’s Winter Classic may have been its best yet as the Philadelphia Flyers took on the New York Rangers in the league’s annual outdoor game at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia. While the game time had to be pushed back two hours because of the weather, the players were ready to go as soon as the puck dropped.
Both teams came out of the gate flying with back and forth action throughout the entire first period that ended scoreless, despite good chances from each team. The period was very physical, with both teams looking to leave their mark on each other. Throughout HBO’s “24/7: Flyers/Rangers” documentary, an inside look at both teams, the anticipation for this game was building. Players made it clear on the show that there was no love lost between the two of them and it didn’t disappoint.
Just over half way through the second period, the Flyers got on the board with Brayden Schenn recording his first career goal off a bad rebound from Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Less than two minutes later, Claude Giroux doubled the lead with his 18th goal of the year and Philadelphia seemed to be in control. But just 30 seconds later, Mike Rupp cut the lead to one again and celebrated with a Jaromir-Jagr esque salute that drew the ire of many Flyer players.
Unfortunately for Philly, Rupp wasn’t done celebrating as just over two minutes into the third period, he snuck a shot past Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky that he should have handled easily. Just a few minutes later, the Rangers big offseason signing Brad Richards broke the tie with his 14th goal of the year. A horrendous penalty call on the Rangers in final minutes of the game gave the Flyers an undeserved chance to tie up the game, but they couldn’t capitalize on it. Read more…
2012 Wild Card Preview: Cincinnati vs. Houston
This is the first of four posts this week examining the Wild Card matchups in the NFL Playoffs. Check back during the next few days for more previews:
The first matchup of the 2012 NFL Playoffs will see the Cincinnati Bengals travel to Houston to take on the Texans at 4:30 et. Saturday on NBC. The Bengals lost a tough game to the Baltimore Ravens yesterday in yet another loss to a team with a winning record. In fact, Cincinnati defeated just one team with a winning record the entire year. Houston, on the other hand, won four games against teams with winning records, including a 20-19 victory over the Bengals in Week 14. Since then though, the Texans have gone winless with losses to the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts and Titans. After the Texans starting quarterback Matt Schaub went down with a season-ending injury in week ten, rookie TJ Yates took over and has performed okay during the final six games. However, left the Texans’ final game against the Titans with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, but is expected to play on Saturday. Here’s a brief look at how the teams matchup:
Offense: Yates hasn’t had to carry a huge load for the Texans but he may need to do more against the Bengals. Luckily for Houston, the injury is to his non-throwing shoulder so he should be in good shape come Saturday. Nevertheless, running back Arian Foster will have to carry the brunt of the load in the game as he has done, along with running back Ben Tate, for most of the year. Look for Houston to continue using its second-ranked rushing offensive to plow through the Bengals’ defensive line. If Yates isn’t 100 percent, the Texans will have to rely even more on their running backs, which could limit their effectiveness over the course of the game.
For the Bengals, rookie Andy Dalton threw for more than 3000 yards this year and 20 touchdowns to lead his team to the playoffs. At running back, Cedric Benson surpassed the 1000-yard mark for the third consecutive year. Cincinnati sits in the middle of the league in both categories, but the two-thronged attack gives head coach Marvin Lewis plenty of options on the offensive end. I expect an even mix of Dalton and Benson, but look for Dalton to go deep to wide receiver AJ Green as the combination has proven lethal throughout the year. Read more…
Montreal Canadiens Embarrass Themselves
It just keeps getting worse and worse up in Montreal as P.K. Subban and Tomas Plekanec fought during practice today in yet another embarrassing moment for the team. After a 1-5 road trip, the Habs have just 35 points in 39 games, last in the Northeast Division and third to last in the Eastern Conference.
The Canadiens have been going through a rough stretch recently. For the first time in their existence, Montreal didn’t win a Stanley Cup during a decade when they failed to capture the title from 2000-2010. Their overtime loss in game seven last year to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins marked the 18th consecutive year that Les Bleu-Blanc-Rouge went home empty handed. And it has not gone over well with their rabid fan base.
The Habs didn’t do much in the offseason with their biggest move being the signing of forward Erik Cole. Nevertheless, expectations remain high up in Montreal.
Then the season began. The Habs won just one of their first eight games, getting out scored by eight goals during the stretch. Things improved slightly over the next month, including a home-and-home of sweep against the Boston Bruins. But that has just fueled Boston into an incredible stretch that has seen them skyrocket to the top of the NHL standings while Montreal has continued to struggle. Read more…
Mark Cuban Can’t Keep His Mouth Shut
By losing the first three games of their season, the Dallas Mavericks had the worst start to a season for a defending champ in more than four decades. I’m sure that’s an accolade that owner Mark Cuban will cherish. But it didn’t stop him from spouting his mouth before Dirk Novitzki and company finally earned their first win of the season last night.
The loud-mouthed owner said, “I think we’re a better team than last year.”
Um, paging Mr. Cuban, you’re not. In fact, you’re a lot worse. Maybe you didn’t realize it, but Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler, J.J. Barea and Deshawn Stevenson were very important parts of your team last year.
Chandler was a borderline all-star last year. He played nearly 30 minutes a game and averaged 10.1 points to go along with 9.4 rebounds. On top of that, he is a very good defender and was key in clogging up the paint for the Mavs last year. Butler missed the second half of year and the postseason with a knee injury, but during his time on the court, he averaged 15 points in 30 key minutes. Yes, the Mavs won the title without him but he’s now part of a dynamic Los Angeles Clippers team that will compete with Dallas all year. Him not being on the Mavs doesn’t make the Mavs worse to be fair to Cuban and his quote, but it is going to make it harder for them to repeat as champions.
Barea is the Mavericks biggest loss in my book. While he wasn’t a starter, the little Puerto Rican was a workhouse on the court who found seems all over the place. Whenever he was in danger, he just always found a way to wiggle out of it. With the acquisition of Lamar Odom (who seems to have spent all offseason/lockout period eating chips on his couch), the Mavs have a solid sixth man to come off the bench and battle down low. He won’t be as effective as Chandler defensively, but he is more versatile on the offensive end. Read more…
Red Sox Acquire Andrew Bailey
New Red Sox general manager Ben Cherrington has made his first big move today in acquiring Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney for outfielder Josh Reddick and prospects Miles Head and Raul Alcantara. The Sox needed a closer. Now they have one. I’ve been hoping the Sox would go after Bailey for a while and am very excited with this deal.
Admittedly, I don’t know too much about Head and Alcantara. Both seem to be top-level prospects, though neither is near major league ready. Head hit 22 home runs and drove in 82 runs for Class-A Greenville and Salem last year. Alcantara started the year with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox, posting a 0.75 ERA and 0.60 WHIP in 48 innings. He was promoted to Lowell where he struggled in his 17 1/3 innings there, giving up 25 hits and 12 earned runs, but still striking out 14. The upper-level of the Sox farm system was depleted by the trade for Adrian Gonzalez last year and the Sox organization has been looking to rebuild it since. This trade certainly doesn’t help that, but neither Head nor Alcantara will be ready for the majors (if they continue improving) for a few years and the Red Sox have greater depth in lower-level prospects.
Josh Reddick is a solid outfielder who started extremely hot for Boston last Summer, but faded badly down the stretch. While many analysts love Reddick’s swing, I’ve always had my doubts and have seen him as great trade bait. He has terrible plate discipline and I’ve always expected him to be a step faster. Nevertheless, he’s young and has potential but I’m still extremely happy with this trade. Read more…
Man City, Man United, Spurs Pull Away in Premier League
When we look back on the 2011-2012 Premier League season, we’re going to realize that these past few fixtures of games separated the men from the boys. Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have pulled away from the pack in England, leaving Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal fighting for the final spot in Champions League football.
Manchester United easily took down Wigan Athletic 5-0 this week even with Wayne Rooney starting on the bench. That’s the same Wigan squad that drew with Liverpool 0-0 last week and drew 1-1 with Chelsea the week before. While the Reds squandered two points against Wigan, United lay waste to Fulham by a 5-0 scoreline. Guess who played Fulham this week? Chelsea. The Blues took just a point in a 1-1 draw while playing at Stamford Bridge while the Red Devils were able to take the full three points at Craven Cottage.
Manchester City mustered just a weak draw at West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day. However, City defeated Arsenal in a pivotal showdown the previous week that kept them at the top of the league. They are now tied with United (ahead on goal-differential) after this week’s draw and United’s victory. Read more…
