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Tag Archives: New England Patriots
NFL Stereotypes via The Simpsons
Posted in Quick Hits, The Simpsons
Tagged Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans
3 Comments
Why The Patriots Losing the Super Bowl in 2012 Was Different Than in 2008
Four years ago I explained Why I Was Glad To See The Patriots Lose Super Bowl 42, tracing much of my NFL fandom up to that point along the way. The article was the culmination of my path from being a fan of a particular team to becoming a fan of the game. There’s a great deal packed into a pretty expansive article, but the gist of it is this:
While I was a Dallas Cowboys fan from childhood, my NFL fandom really began in middle school, when I started to play football myself. Like all twelve year olds at the time, I was awed by rags-to-riches Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf.” Accordingly, when the Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, it irked me.
It seemed obvious to any kid at the time that the Rams were one of the best teams to ever take the field. Between the notorious Tuck Rule snowbowl against Oakland, and the Rams not playing like themselves for most of the Super Bowl, New England seemed undeserving somehow. It felt like these flukes allowed a pack of unwitting beneficiaries to deny a historically great team their vindication, and it began my distaste for the Pats.
Jason Garrett's Offense: Progress Without Paydirt
Many scoffed when I questioned Jason Garrett’s offense in my prior article, Five Reasons Jason Garrett is the Wrong Kind of Guy to be the Dallas Cowboys’ Head Coach. Many of the problems I have with Garrett’s offense, like difficulty holding a lead, difficulty withstanding a comeback, or failure to use the team’s offensive weapons to their highest potential, are difficult to quantify. Some issues, however, can be illumunited through looking at the numbers the offense has put up under Jason Garrett. To that end, I put together a chart with some key statistics from JG’s five years as the Cowboys’ Offensive Coordinator that shows one of the biggest problems with Garrett’s tenure as OC – that his offense can gain yards, but has trouble scoring points.
Each cell in the column contains the relevant statistic. The number in parentheses to the right of the statistic shows where that year’s Cowboys team ranked in the NFL in that particular category. Obviously the data for 2011 is incomplete at this point, and with nine games left to play, those numbers could change dramatically. Nevertheless, they demonstrate the problems the team has been having this year and how those problems are consistent with what has come before.
Posted in Sports
Tagged Dallas Cowboys, Dez Bryant, Jason Garrett, Jason Witten, Jerry Jones, New England Patriots, NFL, Tony Romo
9 Comments
The Andrew Preview: Superbowl XLV
Your Top Stories
Jeff Fisher is leaving the Tennessee Titans after sixteen years as the team's head coach.
1. Last Thursday, Jeff Fisher resigned from the Tennessee Titans after sixteen seasons as the team’s head coach. It was believed that Fisher and QB Vince Young could not coexist in the organization, but with Titans’ owner Bud Adams announcing that Young would not be back in Tennessee, it was widely expected that Fisher would return. Then, Fisher, who had been with the Titans since the team was located in Houston, surprised the league by announce he would not come back for the last year of his contract as Tennessee’s head coach. He will reportedly receive an 8 million dollar settlement buyout. Rumors suggest that part of the departure had to do with Fisher losing two valued assistants in Check Cecil who was fired and Jim Washburn who was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles. Fisher leaves the Titans with a 142-120 record in the regular season and a 5-6 record in the playoffs for the team under his tenure.
2. The Associated Press selected New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick as the 2010 Coach of the Year. This is the third time that Belichick has won the award, having been voted the league’s best coach in 2007 and 2003 as well. With this third win, Belichick is behind only Don Shula, who won the award a record four times. Belichick received thirty out of fifty votes to win, with the second place finisher, Tampa Bay’s Raheem Morris, receiving 11 ½ votes. With a prolific offense and rebuilt defense, he managed to coach the Patriots to a league best 14-2 record this season, that included wins over the Steelers, Packers, Bears, and Jets.
3. Steelers LB James Harrison unleashed more criticism for the NFL in the lead up to the Super Bowl. On Tuesday, Harrison facetiously suggested that he could use pillows to soften his hits on ball-carriers. Then, on Wednesday before the Steelers’ practice, Harrison questioned the NFL’s commitment to player safety, and pointed to the owner’s push for an 18-game regular season as proof of his position. Harrison said that, “It’s not about player safety. It’s about making money.” Harrison noted that Steelers’ owner Dan Rooney had spoken out against the idea of an 18-game season and that “He’s the most respected voice, I believe. He came out and said it, exactly what it was, what it is.” He also said that the NFL’s efforts toward player safety were “a show.” Harrison was fined earlier in the season for his big hits on opposing players.
Registering For The Draft
Here is the current order for the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
1. Carolina (2-14)
2. Denver (4-12)
3. Buffalo (4-12)
4. Cincinnati (4-12)
5. Arizona (5-11)
6. Cleveland (5-11)
7. San Francisco (6-10)
8. Tennessee (6-10)
9. Dallas (6-10)
10. Washington (6-10)
11. Houston (6-10)
12. Minnesota (6-10)
13. Detroit (6-10)
14. St. Louis (7-9)
15. Miami (7-9)
16. Jacksonville (8-8)
17. New England (14-2) — from Oakland
18. San Diego (9-7)
19. New York Giants (10-6)
20. Tampa Bay (10-6)
21. Kansas City (10-6)
22. Indianapolis (10-6)
23. Philadelphia (10-6)
24. New Orleans (11-5)
25. Seattle (7-9)
26. Baltimore (12-4)
27. Atlanta (13-3)
28. New England (14-2)
29. Chicago (11-5)
30. New York Jets (11-5)
31. Green Bay (10-6)*
32. Pittsburgh (12-4)*
* Final draft position depends on the outcome of the Superbowl.
One Big Match Up
1. Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay, 6:30 P.M. EST on FOX, in Arlington, TX – Two of the most storied franchises in the history of the NFL will meet in football’s biggest game this year. The Packers trace their lineage back to 1919, and they have nine NFL Championships and three additional Super Bowl victories going into this year’s championship game. For their part, the Pittsburgh Steelers were founded in 1933 and have won a league-record six Super Bowls as a franchise. Now, in Arlington, Texas, two of the oldest and most decorated teams in the league will match up with a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy as World Champions.
The Steelers take on the Packers in Arlington, Texas at Superbowl XLV.
The Pittsburgh Steelers pulled ahead to a big lead early in the 2011 AFC Championship game, and held firm against a late rally by the Jets to punch their ticket to Super Bowl XLV. Unlike the week prior against the Ravens where the team’s fortunes looked bleak at halftime, the Steelers went into the locker room at the halfway mark with a dominating 24-3 lead. The Jets mounted a furious comeback in the second half, but a goal line stand from James Harrison and the Pittsburgh D effectively shut down Rex Ryan’s team, and Pittsburgh secured the 24-19 victory over New York. One more win would give the Steelers their third Super Bowl in just six years, and it would put QB Ben Roethlisberger in elite company. Only four other quarterbacks in NFL history have won at least three superbowls: Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, and Tom Brady. With Big Ben leading an offense that features standouts like Rashard Mendenhall and Heath Miller, and a defense that features blistering hitters like James Harrison and Troy Polamalu, expect Mike Tomlin’s boys to put up quite a fight on the NFL’s biggest stage.
Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers have taken on and defeated division champions in every game they’ve played for the last four weeks. Their latest victim, a repeat customer, was the Chicago Bears who fell at home to the Packers 21-14. Aaron Rodgers threw for 244 yards, ran in a score, and even made a touchdown-saving tackle to send the Pack into the Super Bowl for the first time since 1998. With that strong performance, the Packers are currently three-point favorites for the Big Game and why not? Green Bay has not been down by more than a touchdown this entire season. With Aaron Rodgers under center and weapons like the explosive Greg Jennings catching passes and the workman-like James Starks getting the hard yards, the offense has been putting up big numbers. With a defense that boasts talents like lineman B.J. Raji, who returned an interception for a touchdown in the NFC Championship game and Cameron Wake who has been sacking quarterbacks all season, every offensive that has faced Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay squad has had their hands full. We have two stellar teams with long histories vying for the NFL Championship this Sunday. It should be a hell of a game.
