Friday, December 3, 2010

Vick Continues to Show Schaub how It's Done



Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub has come a long way since being current-Philadelphia Eagle Michael Vick's back-up with the Atlanta Falcons. Proof of that came on Thursday night when his numbers nearly mirrored Vick's.

Schaub went 22 for 36 pass attempts, passed for 337 yards, threw two touchdowns, with one interception. Conversely, Vick went 22 for 33, with 302 yards, one interception as well, but also rushed for a TD, proving just how effective and versatile a weapon he is. In the end, Vick has maybe come a longer way, with the fact that he got the win serving as further evidence that the student is not yet ready to best the master.

And that's what Vick has been able to accomplish this year: in a word, mastery. The 8-4 Eagles are the likely class of the NFC East (although the New York Giants are right on their tails), with Vick usurping the starting job from Kevin Kolb no doubt in part due to his pedigree but also thanks to his determination and hard work at not treating dogs like pieces of meat for the last little while. That right there is perseverance.

Meanwhile, the Texans' 5-7 record does not necessarily reflect the job Schaub has been doing in Houston. The Texans have scored the fourth-most points in the league (at least temporarily, with last night's game being the first of the week), while giving up the second-most. As such, it's clear Schaub just needs a better supporting cast - one that doesn't feel the need to treat opposing players like punching bags - and that he's well on his way to success. It's ironic that wide-receiver Andre Johnson's brain cramp came during a game in which the team's defense showed up and helped to post a 20-0 shutout against the Tennessee Titans, but that's life for you, especially in Houston, where problems are commonplace.

"So much to learn... like what not to do to de-rail my career for two years."
In a way, it's funny to be talking about Schaub as if he's this rookie gunslinger that just recently broke into the league. As a matter of fact, he's 29 and just one year younger than Vick. So talking about how much less one has accomplished in his career is somewhat awkward, or at least it would be were it not for how great the other has been.

Schaub started a grand total of two games in three seasons in Atlanta, while both left the city after 2006, Schaub to Houston to become the starting eventual Pro Bowl QB he is today, and Vick to prison to become the ex-con we've somehow grown to love again. Evidently, it would seem there are a few more things Vick hasn't taught Schaub, and admittedly he's all the better for it. Maybe one day he'll be just plain better. That day won't be soon though.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

No Wonder Finnegan Was so Upset... Johnson Had Love-Tapped Him from Behind Earlier



It turns out Houston Texans wide-receiver Andre Johnson was miked-up during the game against the Tennessee Titans last weekend, meaning every little detail of the lead-up to his fight with Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan was caught on tape. It would seem in Finnegan's mind that his getting a little push from behind justified his failed attempt to try to rip off Johnson's head by the facemask. Either that, or Finnegan just likes it rough, to the point that he needs to incite violence by others by being an idiot just to satisfy his really weird fetish. I mean he did literally jump on Johnson's back in a game last season, resulting in probably the most flagrant pass-interference penalty in the history of football and a not-so-subtle, overenthusiastic attempt at flirtation.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Steelers' Harrison Is sooo Rich, He Can Afford to Risk the Livelihoods of Other Players



Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison has no doubt made a career of dishing out hard hits, but before it's over and done someone should let him know that it isn't much of one if you have to actually pay to get the chance to. Indeed, Harrison continued doing his best impression of a start-up rock outfit by paying to play yet again, getting fined by the NFL another $25,000 on Tuesday for his roughing-the-passer penalty on Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick this past weekend.

Harrison has now been fined a total of $125,000 this year for four separate illegal hits. Not among those was this other penalty on Oakland Raiders QB Jason Campbell the week before. Harrison has apparently doled out a few too many helmet-too-helmet hits that his vision is so skewed to the point that he actually likened his hit on Fitzpatrick to that on Campbell in trying to dismiss the fine. In the latest incident, he clearly went helmet-to-helmet (it's the last hit in the above montage), while, despite his what can only be described as undeniably ruthless intentions, there was no such contact on Campbell. Considering the trend in his behaviour, it's fair to assume that he was aiming for the helmet and just missed. Was probably disappointed too.



Obviously, with Harrison earning $51.175 million over six seasons, he can treat the $125,000 as a weekend spent in Las Vegas surrounded with high-priced hookers and then forget about it with not so much as an unwanted venereal disease to show for his trouble. In that, he's made his point. But if his head is so hard that he can't get the league's point through his thick skull, maybe commissioner Roger Goodell should seriously consider letting him play without a helmet altogether. Let's see if his style of play changes then.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Finnegan and Johnson Get Fined for Slugfest, as in Suggestion from NFL to Keep up the Fine Work


First there was Oakland Raider Richard Seymour's punch to the head of Pittsburgh Steeler Ben Roethlisberger, and now this. Before you know it, the "No Fun League" will be turning into a veritable day at the amusement park.

Obviously brawls are fun to watch, but the NFL is walking the line of some pretty dangerous territory, refusing to come down hard on Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan and Houston Texan wide-receiver Andre Johnson for their fight on Sunday. Each got fined $25,000 for their actions on Monday night (as did Seymour for his attack on Roethlisberger last week) and will not get suspended, meaning the NFL is one step closer to officially charging players $25,000 for taking liberties on opposing players they don't like that much.

Considering Johnson signed a seven-year, $62.5-million deal in August, it may actually sound like a pretty good deal, losing some mere pocket change (relatively speaking) in order to get even with someone that has been a stick in his craw for a while now. Hell, Finnegan, widely known as one of the biggest pests in the league, should take this whole experience as an unofficial warning to keep his shenanigans to a minimum, lest he's actually hoping for a long line of opposing teammates looking for revenge to form every game.

Still, if this is commissioner Roger Goodell's attempt at cleaning up the league, maybe he should take a more active approach, actually suspend the initial transgression so as not to risk trends developing and then snowballing. If he lets players police themselves, the end-result may be attractive, but the lead-up will be a war with bodies dropping every which way. We are talking about people that concuss others and break limbs for a living within the game's actual rules. Take those out of the picture, and all you have left is a no-holds-barred free-for-all akin to the UFC. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but, mixed with football, you get the XFL. And that's very bad.

Derek Anderson Ain't Laughing no More... He's Screaming


In Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson's defense, this whole incident has been blown way out of proportion. However, his tirade last night didn't really help calm the situation.

On Monday night with the San Francisco 49ers leading the Cardinals in the fourth quarter en route to a 27-6 win, Anderson was caught on camera on the sidelines "laughing" with guard Deuce Lutui. From the get-go the deck was stacked against Anderson for the simple reason that there's no real discernible proof that he was laughing at all. For all anyone knows, it may just have been a wry, sarcastic grin on his face in response to his team being embarrassed by the juggernaut that is the 4-7 49ers. Let me paint a picture for you:

Anderson: "Man, I really suck tonight."
Lutui: "No kidding."
Anderson: "Thanks buddy." *Smiles*
Lutui: "Did you just smile?"
Anderson: "Whatever expression I make is nobody else's business."
Lutui: "Huh?"
Anderson: "It wasn't funny. I wasn't laughing about anything."
Lutui: "I'm just saying, you should be careful. We're down 18 points."
Anderson: "That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine."
Lutui: "Okay, but you still shouldn't be laughing man."
Anderson: "I wasn't laughing about it... If you think this is funny, I take this sh** serious."
Lutui: "You take this sh** seriously."
Anderson: "Real serious."
Lutui: "No, seriously."
Anderson: "I put my heart and soul into this sh** every single week."
Lutui: "Alright, dude. Keep cool. People could be watching."
Anderson: "I'm just telling you right now what I do every single week."
Lutui: "Lose games?"
Anderson: "Every single week I put my freakin' heart and soul into this. I study my ass off. I don't go out there and laugh. It's not funny. Nothing's funny to me. I don't want to go out there and get embarrassed on Monday Night Football in front of everybody."
Lutui: "And yet here we are... wait. Did you just say nothing's funny to you? What about that time we saw Deuce Bigalow together and you laughed at our names being the same?"
Anderson: "I'm telling you right now, we're talking."
Lutui: "Way to state the obvious."
Anderson: "I'm done."
Lutui: "Talking?"
Anderson: "Hmm.. Deuce Bigalow... what a funny movie." *Smiles and gets caught on camera*

Clearly a misunderstanding if anything (although if he really did like Deuce Bigalow he should probably be benched out of sheer principle). Anderson wasn't necessarily laughing and potentially just smiling facetiously at how bad his team was doing at the time. Of course, we'll never know for sure thanks to him storming off the podium as he did. In so doing, not only did he fail to defuse the situation, but he also made it a whole lot worse for everybody... and funnier. Better not show the footage on the sidelines from here on out, because the team stands to get embarrassed a whole lot more, especially with Anderson starting.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Washington Redskins Fans Get into It, Taking Sides in Shanahans-McNabb Feud


This from Sunday's 17-13 Minnesota Vikings' win over the Washington Redskins, during which frustrations finally boiled over among Redskins fans who realized midway through that they were indeed getting beat by a 41-year-old wannabe porn actor in Brett Favre (who has the middle name, Lorenzo, to prove it). It's safe to say neither of the two main culprits in the fight are as old as that, although one got just as embarrassed as Washington, unfortunately.

The Real Sickest Man in America



Move over Jackie Smith and your dropped pass in the third quarter of Super Bowl XIII. You've at least got competition for the title of owner of the worst hands in football, with Buffalo Bills wide-receiver Stevie Johnson missing this sure-game-winning-touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in overtime against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. It was also the fifth dropped pass of the game for Johnson, who was recently fined for showing off a t-shirt with the words "Why So Serious?" on it after scoring against the Cincinnati Bengals last week. Ironically, the second career he will undoubtedly now need in modeling has been put on hold indefinitely until he next scores. God knows when that will be, meant as literally as possible, seeing as Johnson is apparently one of his most loyal disciples. His tweet from after his team lost 19-16:


A Great Day for some Football, Cold Weather, a Broken Leg, and a Bunch of Larks Hoisting a Grey Cup

Truth be told it wasn't that cold out in Edmonton, Alberta on Sunday, at least not so cold that the 98th Grey Cup couldn't be played, with the Montreal Alouettes (that's French for larks) ultimately holding on 21-18 for their second-straigh championship victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders (that's English for a slightly better name for a football team).

The game was relatively exciting, with one significant moment (to non-CFL fans) taking place in the first quarter, when Roughrider Leron Mitchell broke his leg on a play.


It was an especially notable game because in the previous Grey Cup, the Alouettes came back from a 27-11 fourth-quarter deficit to win 28-27 on a last-ditch field-goal attempt, after the same Roughriders got called for too many men on the field. The initial field goal was missed by Montreal kicker Damon Duval, but the penalty gave him a second shot at redemption and he did not miss, making for one of the most exciting - and tragic - ends to a championship game, no matter the sport.

This year, with the roles reversed, Montreal was able to hld on despite, at one point leading 21-11 in the fourth. Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant threw an interception in the game's dying moments to linebacker Billy Parker, which sealed the game. Durant, who's the older brother of Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Justin Durant, was trying to avoid a sack and throw the ball out of bounds, but just didn't get enough on it, leading to yet another heartbreaking defeat for Riders fan, who  luckily had been able to celebrate a championship victory in 2007.

And, no, despite how it may look to the casual fan, there are not just two teams in the entire league... there are eight, which admittedly still doesn't provide much in the way of competition, but what are you going to do when  your country's entire population of 35 million people is concentrated in just a handful of significantly large urban centers in order to keep warm during the eight-month winters up there. Way to perpetuate a negative stereotype of Canadians, CFL. And, yes, mounties did present the Grey Cup to the winning team.