Showing posts with label 49ers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 49ers. Show all posts
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Friday, 18 January 2013
What we learned: NFL divisional playoff round!
By JC Godin
Holy mother of lord!! What a weekend that was!!! I do not recall an NFL playoff weekend where we had two instant classics and maybe the birth of "the next thing," the second coming, Colin Kaepernick!!!
Let's talk Kaepernick! Recall what I said about Kap when he first got wet?? Dual-threat QB, makes it harder for defenses. It's hard to game plan versus such a threat when your offensive line is DOMINANT and your running back is named Frank Gore!! But what really stood out about Colin is not how fast he can run, nor how smart he is at reading defenses, but the accuracy on his throws are close to sublime! I'm not joking!! Pay close attention this Sunday or go look back at some game tape! Green Bay put up a good fight, but by the end of the third quarter, that D had no answer for Kap!!
We witnessed the Pats win at home... Bla bla bla.... Zzzzzzzz... Snore fest!!! We all knew New England was going to win and we didn't learn anything! We already knew that Matt Schaub stinks in red zone and third down situations!
Next!!
Alright, classic #2 showed us how good the Seattle Seahawks are, even in defeat! Scoring 28 unanswered points in two quarters!! WOW!! Colin Cowherd of ESPN claims that Russell Wilson is a top-five QB in the NFL, and you know what? I kind of agree with him! Seattle is going to kick some serious ass next year and maybe for many years to come! One thing is for sure, the Seahwaks/49ers, Wilson/Kaepernick feud will be fun to watch! And that Seahawks D will still shine regardless of the loss of their defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who took the job as HC in Jacksonville!
I have to give it to the Falcons though, Matt Ryan is also top five QB in the league! He is leading this team well, and a lot of the credit has to go to HC Mike Smith, who hired Mike Nolan and Dirk Koetter as DC and OC! But on Sunday, this is where it stops for the Falcons!
Classic #1, Ravens vs Broncos, was maybe the best game I have ever watched, and I've seen plenty of football! There is so much to take from this game, I don't know where to start! John Fox's conservative ways again come and bite him in the rear-end! How all mighty Peyton looked like someone who could not make a 20-yard pass from the third quarter on! How safety Rahim Moore misplayed the ball and that is quite the under statement!!! That was bad!!!! Just Horrible ball skills!! But most of all, what I took from this game was the never give up, believe attitude the Ravens had throughout the match!! Joseph Flacco is also top five in the NFL! Say what you want to say, but Flacco is LIGHTS OUT!! Ever since coach Harbaugh fired OC Cam Cameroun, it's like the "training wheels" finally came off!! It was truly a team effort, from Flacco to Ray Rice to Ray Lewis and his 17 tackles! SAY WHAT!! Yes, 17 tackles!! From Torrey Smith's first half to Anquan Boldin's 2nd half! From T-Sizzle to CB Corey Graham, who played the game of his life!! The fifth round draft pick of the Chicago Bears from 2007 never played such a game in his career!! That's playoffs. The unsung hero emerges from that one game at that special time!! The most impressive thing about the Ravens win is the fact that they won despite the fact they gave up two special teams TDs to Trindon Holliday (I'm sure the Texans are kicking themselves after cutting him!!)! On a side note, I was quite glad to see the Broncos lose! Take that, John Elway!! The way he played Tebow out of Denver, let's just call what happened on Saturday poetic justice! I'm sure Elway had nightmares of last year's playoff game against the Steelers! Te-Bow, Te-Bow!!! Tebow has one thing Manning doesn't - A playoff win as a Denver Bronco!!
Looking at championship Sunday's games, as I stated earlier, I think the Niners will beat the Falcons! The O-line and D is way too dominant right now, and with the emergence of Colin Kaepernick, forget about it!! Nice season Falcons! Though I don't expect the Niners to steamroll all over the Falcons! Atlanta will make it interesting!
As for the AFC, the Ravens are the team nobody wants to play right now!! Ray's goodbye gave this team the last push it needed after Cameroun's firing! The Ravens are rolling on all cylinders!! Yes this is the all-mighty Pats, and I'm a huge Tom Brady guy, I like Brady, but Flacco out-balled him in the last two meetings against him. He also just out-balled Peyton Manning! The Ravens have no reason to fear the Pats, but the Pats should fear the Ravens!! This is a dangerous team to play against! If football gods truly exist, the Ravens will win against New England and make it to the Super Bowl!! Win or lose, it don't matter; just to make it there will be incredible for the franchise! It will be the last time Lewis, Reed and Suggs will get to play together, and how fitting would it be for them to do it on the biggest stage of them all!!
How sweet would it be to see the two brother coaches go at it for the Lombardi Trophy! Let's go Niners and Ravens!!!
Alright, classic #2 showed us how good the Seattle Seahawks are, even in defeat! Scoring 28 unanswered points in two quarters!! WOW!! Colin Cowherd of ESPN claims that Russell Wilson is a top-five QB in the NFL, and you know what? I kind of agree with him! Seattle is going to kick some serious ass next year and maybe for many years to come! One thing is for sure, the Seahwaks/49ers, Wilson/Kaepernick feud will be fun to watch! And that Seahawks D will still shine regardless of the loss of their defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who took the job as HC in Jacksonville!
I have to give it to the Falcons though, Matt Ryan is also top five QB in the league! He is leading this team well, and a lot of the credit has to go to HC Mike Smith, who hired Mike Nolan and Dirk Koetter as DC and OC! But on Sunday, this is where it stops for the Falcons!
Classic #1, Ravens vs Broncos, was maybe the best game I have ever watched, and I've seen plenty of football! There is so much to take from this game, I don't know where to start! John Fox's conservative ways again come and bite him in the rear-end! How all mighty Peyton looked like someone who could not make a 20-yard pass from the third quarter on! How safety Rahim Moore misplayed the ball and that is quite the under statement!!! That was bad!!!! Just Horrible ball skills!! But most of all, what I took from this game was the never give up, believe attitude the Ravens had throughout the match!! Joseph Flacco is also top five in the NFL! Say what you want to say, but Flacco is LIGHTS OUT!! Ever since coach Harbaugh fired OC Cam Cameroun, it's like the "training wheels" finally came off!! It was truly a team effort, from Flacco to Ray Rice to Ray Lewis and his 17 tackles! SAY WHAT!! Yes, 17 tackles!! From Torrey Smith's first half to Anquan Boldin's 2nd half! From T-Sizzle to CB Corey Graham, who played the game of his life!! The fifth round draft pick of the Chicago Bears from 2007 never played such a game in his career!! That's playoffs. The unsung hero emerges from that one game at that special time!! The most impressive thing about the Ravens win is the fact that they won despite the fact they gave up two special teams TDs to Trindon Holliday (I'm sure the Texans are kicking themselves after cutting him!!)! On a side note, I was quite glad to see the Broncos lose! Take that, John Elway!! The way he played Tebow out of Denver, let's just call what happened on Saturday poetic justice! I'm sure Elway had nightmares of last year's playoff game against the Steelers! Te-Bow, Te-Bow!!! Tebow has one thing Manning doesn't - A playoff win as a Denver Bronco!!
Looking at championship Sunday's games, as I stated earlier, I think the Niners will beat the Falcons! The O-line and D is way too dominant right now, and with the emergence of Colin Kaepernick, forget about it!! Nice season Falcons! Though I don't expect the Niners to steamroll all over the Falcons! Atlanta will make it interesting!
As for the AFC, the Ravens are the team nobody wants to play right now!! Ray's goodbye gave this team the last push it needed after Cameroun's firing! The Ravens are rolling on all cylinders!! Yes this is the all-mighty Pats, and I'm a huge Tom Brady guy, I like Brady, but Flacco out-balled him in the last two meetings against him. He also just out-balled Peyton Manning! The Ravens have no reason to fear the Pats, but the Pats should fear the Ravens!! This is a dangerous team to play against! If football gods truly exist, the Ravens will win against New England and make it to the Super Bowl!! Win or lose, it don't matter; just to make it there will be incredible for the franchise! It will be the last time Lewis, Reed and Suggs will get to play together, and how fitting would it be for them to do it on the biggest stage of them all!!
How sweet would it be to see the two brother coaches go at it for the Lombardi Trophy! Let's go Niners and Ravens!!!
Saturday, 21 January 2012
5 Things That The 2011-2012 NFL Season Taught Us
To the hardcore NFL fan, the 2011-12 season ends Sunday night with the NFC Championship game. I tend to agree with TSN Radio host, Simon Tsalikis, The Super Bowl is for the masses and watched by everyone who claim to be a football fan but can't name the two conferences that the two teams represent. As a result, I would like to list 5 things that happened this season and what we should learn from them. Although you may not agree with some, they will serve as "food for thought" going into the 2012-13 NFL season.
1. Defense Wins Championships. In a season where Drew Brees and Tom Brady each threw for 5000 + yards, defense will be the key to winning the two conference championships and the Super Bowl. The Giants were able to stop the Packers with a solid defensive effort and should be able to keep the 49ers in check. As for the Patriots, it is too early to tell if their defense is worthy of a championship. If they have their hands full with the Ravens offense, the Pats will not win the Super Bowl regardless if the Pats wins the AFC Championship.
2. After Further Review, Move The Replay Booth. Isn't the point of the replaying questionable calls on the field is to get the calls right?
After the blown call on the field and in the booth by Bill Leavy regarding the Greg Jennings' fumble, the league has to start thinking about moving the booth upstairs; especially for games in the playoffs.
3. Pass Happiness. It will be interesting to see how many teams will model themselves after the Saints, Patriots, Packers and Lions in terms of passing on every down. Yes, the passing game is sexy and sells tickets but does it ultimately lead to hoisting the Super Bowl? Time will tell.
4. Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth, Rex. If Rex Ryan is going to run his mouth about
winning the Super Bowl, he should have a team that can win games on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Ryan is suppose to be a defensive guru; however, the New York Jets defense was ranked 5th in the league. Hey Rex, get a defense that will win some games regardless of your offence and then start talking about contending about a championship.
5. Tebow Time Was Great But... Tim Tebow's season made for a sweet story; however, it has to be put into perspective. He was a quarterback for a team that played .500 football in an awful AFC West and struggled moving his offence down the field. Granted, he had an awesome day versus the Pittsburgh Steelers but that was one game. If the Broncos played the Steelers 9 of 10 games, Tebow would not have that type of game again. Will Tebow be able to improve for the 2012-13 season to be a NFL quarterback to the liking to the stakeholders of the Denver Broncos, especially John Elway.
Final Taughts:
1. Defense Wins Championships. In a season where Drew Brees and Tom Brady each threw for 5000 + yards, defense will be the key to winning the two conference championships and the Super Bowl. The Giants were able to stop the Packers with a solid defensive effort and should be able to keep the 49ers in check. As for the Patriots, it is too early to tell if their defense is worthy of a championship. If they have their hands full with the Ravens offense, the Pats will not win the Super Bowl regardless if the Pats wins the AFC Championship.
2. After Further Review, Move The Replay Booth. Isn't the point of the replaying questionable calls on the field is to get the calls right?
After the blown call on the field and in the booth by Bill Leavy regarding the Greg Jennings' fumble, the league has to start thinking about moving the booth upstairs; especially for games in the playoffs.
3. Pass Happiness. It will be interesting to see how many teams will model themselves after the Saints, Patriots, Packers and Lions in terms of passing on every down. Yes, the passing game is sexy and sells tickets but does it ultimately lead to hoisting the Super Bowl? Time will tell.
4. Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth, Rex. If Rex Ryan is going to run his mouth about
winning the Super Bowl, he should have a team that can win games on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Ryan is suppose to be a defensive guru; however, the New York Jets defense was ranked 5th in the league. Hey Rex, get a defense that will win some games regardless of your offence and then start talking about contending about a championship.5. Tebow Time Was Great But... Tim Tebow's season made for a sweet story; however, it has to be put into perspective. He was a quarterback for a team that played .500 football in an awful AFC West and struggled moving his offence down the field. Granted, he had an awesome day versus the Pittsburgh Steelers but that was one game. If the Broncos played the Steelers 9 of 10 games, Tebow would not have that type of game again. Will Tebow be able to improve for the 2012-13 season to be a NFL quarterback to the liking to the stakeholders of the Denver Broncos, especially John Elway.
Final Taughts:
- If The Price Is Right. Rumour has it that the Habs wants to sign Carey Price for $7 million for 7 years. $7 million? Really? Most people are going to use Pekka Rinne as a benchmark to begin attaching a value to Price. I rather use Cam Ward as a measuring stick. If I'm the general manager of the Habs, Ward's $6.3 million cap hit is the maximum amount that I'm willing to offer Carey Price for 7 years. Remember, Ward has a Stanley Cup ring and both Rinne and Price has not reached a conference final yet.
- Lebron Haters Waiting To Pounce. It seems that Lebron can't win with the NBA pundits and fans. James is truly dominating lately without Dwayne Wade but the haters out there are simply ignoring his efforts. They are waiting for fourth quarters in the playoffs to say, "You see, you see Lebron can't play with his teammates. The Heat can't come together when it counts. It's not Lebron's team". While I'll admit that the Heat is Wade's team, Lebron will be a better a 4th quarter player this post season. He has to. He has no other choice.
Related Post(s):
- NFL Pool: Championship Weekend
- The Epic Story Tim Tebow is Writing
- Tebow passes first tough test - turning it over and STILL winning
Follow me on Twitter - @sportstaughts
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Alouettes and Braylon Edwards a Match Made In Heaven?
Could the Alouettes be interested in current NFL player Braylon Edwards? With San Francisco 49ers releasing the polarizing figure from their club, this will mark the third time in less than three years that he will be looking for a new home.
The history of Edwards does not bode well for his future chance at NFL employment, at least in reading the Twitter thoughts of the NFL beat writers. Beyond his knee injury, the same sentiment has been echoed by all, that his off-field incidents will outweigh his on-field accomplishments. Thus, it might make it difficult for any potential suitor to sign him up early in free agency period.
Apparently the reason why he signed on with the 49ers is because of the Michigan Wolverines connection of current 49ers head coach, Jim Harbaugh and his father.
In the upcoming spring, if Edwards has exhausted all corners of the NFL universe and has no choices, would he consider playing in the CFL, in-particular for the Montreal Alouettes? It has to be a two-way street where there’s interest from both parties.
Under the Marc Trestman regime, he has taken flyers on former NFL players such as O.J. Santiago, Ahman Green, and Jerry Porter. Santiago lasted the longest with the club before he was released midway through the 2010 season, and for the other two, unfortunately injuries derailed any chance of them making the roster.
Let’s fast forward to the present situation with Edwards. By all means, he probably isn’t even thinking about coming north of the border knowing very well it could signal the end of his career. Even though the Alouettes are loaded at the receiver position, they have never said no to any American especially with a NFL background willing to tryout.
With the future of Kerry Watkins unknown whether or not the team would like him back at the salary he is earning, Could anyone imagine Edwards catching touchdown passes, albeit when he’s focused from Anthony Calvillo?
Edwards has the speed and penchant to making highlight reel catches. If he is able to learn the angles of the Canadian game he could flourish playing in this system where the wideout position is very important in the Trestman offense.
It seems like a far fetched scenario. But consider that Trestman can help rectify Edwards’s career because at the age of 28, he is very quickly running out of NFL options. Remember, it was Trestman who spent countless hours helping to reform Tim Tebow’s throwing motion and career. From all indications, Tebow has become an overnight revelation.
Many expect Trestman to honour the last year of his deal with the team. If he opts for the NFL in 2013, he could bring Edwards along with him.
To date, Edwards’s most successful NFL season was in 2008 with the Cleveland Browns, where he amassed; 80 receptions, 1,289 yards, and 16 touchdowns. He has shown glimpses of being a solid player. But the stigma will follow him whether or not he deeply loves this game to go beyond the means to become a great football player.
Maybe a year in exile from the NFL could do him well where he could come up to the CFL and redefine his image, and game. If he does show interest, will the Alouettes take the bait at a signing one of the NFL’s more enigmatic players?
You can follow me on Twitter @MoeKhan19
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