Detroit Tigers pitcher, Justin Verlander, has unanimously won the American League Cy Young Award. This comes as no surprise whatsoever as Verlander absolutely dominated during the regular season. He recorded an impressive 24 wins with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts. The real test to how impressive of a season he had will be if he wins the AL MVP award, a feat accomplished by a pitcher only 11 times since 1922, last done by Dennis Eckersley in 1992.
NBA players have rejected the recent offer proposed by the owners. The NBA players’ next step is to begin the process of disbanding their union. NBA players are taking the same route the NFL players took during their negotiations, but it doesn’t seem as hopeful for the NBA that a deal will get done anytime soon, as it did for the NFL. Only time will tell. This story is much less impactful as long as the NFL season is still going on. If there’s no NBA season post-Super Bowl, then this may become a bigger issue to most sports fans.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Los Angeles Dodgers and OF Matt Kemp are close to completing an 8-year $160 million contract. That’s a serious contract offer from a team that is supposedly bankrupt.
World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals will name former catcher, Mike Matheny, their new manager. He will have some huge shoes to fill as Tony La Russa brought the Cardinals to the promise land twice and is one of the city’s most beloved figures.
It’s official- the Philadelphia Phillies reached an agreement with P Jonathan Papelbon on a 4-year deal. (Are the Phillies watching what’s happening to the Eagles?)
The Sport Scholar got some serious New York Jets love on Twitter today from Kris Jenkins and Vlad Ducasse for the last article published, “3 REASONS THE NEW YORK JETS BEAT THE BUFFALO BILLS.” Feels great to see these guys are reading my stuff and I really appreciate them sharing it with their followers. Really looking forward to this Sunday’s showdown with the New England Patriots. Should be INTENSE!
I wrote this article for Technorati. Click here to see the article there.
If the New York Jets win the AFC East Division Title this year, something they haven’t done since 2002, Week 9 of the NFL season will be the week they will look at as the week that everything changed. Week 9 will be the week the Jets transformed from a mediocre, loud-mouth team to a team that is once again a contender with a suffocating defense and hard-nosed running game.
Coming in to week 9, the Jets were coming off a bye week and they were set for a head-to-head match up against the division-leading Buffalo Bills, who just finished laying the wood on the Washington Redskins in a 24-0 blowout in Toronto.
The cards were stacked against the Jets. They were winless on the road, going against the leading rusher in the NFL, and still searching for a true identity.
So how did the Jets pull out a win?
1. The New York Jets rushing attack came to play.
Everyone following the Jets for the past three years has heard this term hundreds of times- GROUND AND POUND. To start the 2011 season, the Jets offense was all ground and no pound. Shonn Greene took over the role of feature back in what was supposed to be a seamless transition. Didn’t work out that way. Him and future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson struggled mightily to move the rock. On the season, the Jets averaged 96.9 rushing yards per game. Coming into cold-weather Buffalo, an effective rushing game was a must. How did they respond? Collectively, the Jets rushed for 126 yards and the offensive line just blew back the D line of the Bills with ease. The offense of the Jets was balanced with a healthy mix of rushing and passing plays but when the Jets decided to run the ball, they did it effectively.
2. The New York Jets run defense stuffed Fred Jackson.
The Jets were giving up 123 rushing yards per game and the Bills were rushing for 135 yards per game coming into this matchup. It was no secret the Bills would give the ball to Fred Jackson. The onus was on the 25th ranked rushing defense in the league to disrupt the NFL‘s leading rusher. Led by underrated DT Sione Pouha, the Bills were held to only 96 total rushing yards. Fred Jackson responsible for only 82.
3. The New York Jets dominated the time of possession.
This third stat really ties into the first two. If you have an effective run game and your opponent does not, you will win the time of possession battle. The Jets held the ball for 7 minutes longer (an eternity in football) then they’ve been averaging. The Jets held on to the ball for 37:52 and the Bills only 22:08. That’s a 15+ min differential, or in football time- an entire quarter!
There were obviously other reasons than just the ones stated above that contributed to the Jets’ victory on Sunday, such as their incredible pass defense and solid special teams play, but the 3 listed above stand out because they are 3 areas in which the Jets have not performed well this season and 3 areas in which the Jets MUST continue to perform well in order to make a serious run at the Lombardi Trophy. This was the biggest game of the Jets season this year and they passed this test with flying colors but this victory has come and gone because there is a new biggest game of the season and it takes place this Sunday night against bitter rivals New England Patriots.
The most exciting matchup of the week isn’t exactly a matchup between two teams, or even two players who will be on the field a the same time. Instead it’s a matchup between two of the most explosive wide receivers in the NFL. These two wide receivers rank in the top 3 in yards, yards per game, and touchdowns, they each have a 95yd+ touchdown catch on the year, and on Sunday their two first-place teams go head-to-head in what should be an epic battle and the game of the week.
In 7 games, Mike Wallace has 36 catches for 730 yards and 5 touchdowns. Wes Welker has reeled in 51 catches for 785 yds and 6 touchdowns in just 6 games.
Mike Wallace is known around the league as one of the fastest men in the NFL. A vertical threat like him hasn’t been seen since the likes of Randy Moss. Not to say he’s on the same level of Randy Moss, but he does pose the same type of threat.
Wes Welker is the crafty veteran who does most of his damage in the slot weaving inside and out of opposing defenses. He’s certainly one of the most elusive players in the NFL. It also doesn’t hurt that he has Tom Brady as his quarterback and Bill Belichick for a coach.
So what’s ahead for Mike Wallace this week? How about the passing defense ranked dead-last in the league. Wallace will line up against a young and unproven secondary who will certainly have problems containing his speed. I expect Belichick to counter with deep safety play, which should help open up the run game for the Steelers, which should in turn open the play-action fake for Wallace. I’ll be surprised if Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t connect with Mike Wallace with at least one 40+ yd connection.
Wes Welker has more of a challenge waiting for him in the Pittsburgh defense. The Steelers have the 2nd-ranked pass defense and the 3rd-ranked defense overall. Also, the game is at the blistering, swirling domicile of the Steelers that is situated between three rivers. Welker and the Patriots certainly seem to have the deck stacked against them, BUT the Patriots are who we think they are (sorry Denny Green) and they have just OWNED the Steelers recently. Welker is such a dynamic receiver, Brady such a resourceful quarterback, and Belichick such a smart coach, they will find a way to do damage to the vaunted Steelers D, as you would expect the NFL‘s number one passing offense to do.
Sunday’s game very well could be decided on which of these two playmakers has the biggest day. Expect Wallace to get big yardage on a few big catches and Welker to get big yards in chunks off of quick slants and outs. This matchup should be packed with big plays and a lot of points.
Today marked the trade deadline for the NFL and a busy day it was.
The headline story of the day, no doubt, goes to the Oakland Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Raiders acquired disgruntled QB Carson Palmer from the Bengals for the Raiders’ 2012 1st-round draft pick and a conditional 1st or 2nd-round pick in the 2013 draft. After Bengals GM, Mike Brown, swore he would not acquiesce to Palmer’s demands and deal him to any other team in the NFL, Brown finally “gave in” (if that’s what you call acquiring two 1st-picks) and the Palmer-Brown soap opera is finally over.
Acquiring Carson Palmer to lead your team- pretty good move. Giving up possibly two 1st-round picks for him- DUMB! And to think, all this time I thought it was Al Davis making all of those ludicrous personnel decisions for the Raiders. For his sake, I sure hope Palmer helps the Raiders “win baby, win.”
Later in the day, the Philadelphia Eagles dealt RB Ronnie Brown to the Detroit Lions for RB Jerome Harrison and a 7th-round draft pick (those sure seem to be a popular bargaining chip) in the 2013 draft. I like the move by the Lions because they gave up very little for a piece that can help them spread their offense and after Brown’s ridiculous attempt to pitch the ball inside the 5-yard line, I’m sure the Eagles didn’t find it too hard to let him go. They got a serviceable RB in Harrison.
*UPDATE* The Ronnie Brown to the Detroit Lions trade was voided because Philadelphia Eagles’ team doctors found that Jerome Harrison has a brain tumor. This voided trade could quite possibly save Harrison’s life.
As far as other trades go, rumors broke out in Chicago that two teams were very interested in trading for unhappy Bears’ running back Matt Forte. Forte welcomed the thought of other teams being interested in him saying “I’m glad teams are interested” in response to the Bears’ refusal to offer him a big contract. Forte’s agent was quoted as saying, “The longer they wait, the more Matt’s going to question whether he’s in their long-term plans.” Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, Forte will call Chicago home at least for the remainder of this season but Bears’ fans can’t be happy at the unrest being displayed by their electric playmaker.
Trade news isn’t all that broke today. Minnesota Vikings head coach, Leslie Frazier, has announced that QB Christian Ponder will make his very 1st NFL start this week against the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers. Of Ponder, Frazier said, “For a guy who gets limited reps in practice, it seems he had a good grasp, like we thought he would, of our offense.”
There’s also more Bengals’ news on the day. RB Cedric Benson had his 3-game suspension, for his misdemeanor assault case that was settled before the season, reduced to 1 game (looks like Bernard Scott won’t be the hot fantasy prospect everyone thought he was). This suspension drew a lot of league-wide attention because Benson was arrested during the lockout which means he was not under a NFL contract. Regardless, the NFL and Commissioner Goodell still felt it was in their power to levy action against Benson.
The 2011 trade deadline was a busy day indeed. Now, is it Sunday yet?
The Denver Broncos have traded WR Brandon Lloyd to the St. Louis Rams for a 6th-round draft pick that could upgrade to a 5th-round pick if Lloyd catches 30 passes for the rest of the NFL season. This leaves new starting QB Tim Tebow without a good possession receiver and word on the street is that WR Eddie Royal is also on the trading block. I guess Denver expects Tebow to rush for 200 yds per game, or maybe walk on water. On the Rams side of things, Brandon Lloyd is reunited with former coach and current Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. I’m sure young QB Sam Bradford is ecstatic over the new acquisition.
