April 27, 2008
Wow this is going fast today. I got up to Stamford, CT. at work in time to see the first picks off the board. We'll be doing analysis on all skill position picks on the news page. I will stop by with some thoughts after each round.
April 26, 2008
3:05: At least the Dolphins didn't take all ten minutes. Jake Long was welcomed to the AFC East with a chorus of boos. The seventh pick can expect the same. I'll keep updating this blog entry for a while rather than posting new entries each time. So refresh often! And check out our news page, where we'll have all the immediate reaction and analysis to each pick.
3:11: I hope the Rams took Chris Long because they think he's a better player than Glenn Dorsey. Not just because he fits their roster better.
Continue reading "NFL Draft Liveblog" »
April 15, 2008
This Liveblog goes for as long as it can stay interesting, which may not be long
2:00: No Rich Eisen?! I like Fran Charles, but NFL Network can't break out the big guns for this?
2:02: I seriously worry about the Patriots hangover, but they get the biggest Week 1 layup possible: At home against the Chiefs.
Continue reading "Schedule Release thoughts ... Live!" »
January 06, 2008
3:14: It's not a playoff game until Guy Whimpler enters the lineup.
3:15: The Giants staying aggressive, passing on second-and-short. That's what they should be doing.
3:16: One reason to be wary of the Train next year: Ahmad Bradshaw. He's looked great in Week 16 in Buffalo, and now is getting fourth quarter snaps. He runs tough for a small guy.
3:17: Toomer keeps showing why he's still on the roster. The Giants putting this game away with a long drive. The Bucs aren't putting up much of a fight, and Bradshaw keeps making people miss.
Continue reading "Bucs-Giants Liveblog, Fourth quarter" »
2:34: Fox opens the second half with the most depressingly popular rap song of the year: "Party like a Rock Star."
2:36: Michael Spurlock fumbles the opening kickoff, right in front of Jon Gruden. Oh boy.
2:37: It's a quarter earlier, but the Giants have a chance like Washington had yesterday to take the game over after a turnover on a kickoff. Calling Shaun Suisham.
2:40: Giants inside the ten. I should have learned from yesterday, but I'm saying this one is just about over if the Giants score a touchdown here. Eli overthrows Plaxico by ten yards, five more than usual.
2:43: Two penalties by the Giants, shades of their 2006 self, wind up with the Giants scoring a field goal.
2:44: Troy Aikman informs us that there is nothing in the rulebook that says a team has to score a touchdown after giving away good field position. Good to know.
Continue reading "Bucs-Giants Liveblog, Third Quarter" »
1:43: Collective Soul for American Idol. Good to see they are still getting paid.
1:44: Jeff Garcia buys time in the pocket, but throws low on a play to Joey Galloway. Garcia hasn't been sharp so far. 10 attempts for 48 yards. Keeping the Giants close.
1:47: Tampa playing eight in the box, and not giving up the deep play. Brian Kelley gambles on a short pass, but Eli gets it to Amani Toomer.
1:49: The Giants had negative two yards in the first quarter. How about that momentum!
1:50: The Train has one yard on six carries. Looks like I choose well with Hackett over him this week on the Fix.
Continue reading "Bucs-Giants Liveblog, Second Quarter" »
1:00: Here we go. Back from a run. Never sign up for something that forces you to train in the middle of winter. It's going to be tough for today's games to match yesterday. One of the best Wild Card days in a long time: two fourth-quarter, double-digit comebacks, although both comeback teams wound up losing.
Let me know what your favorite format is. Newest post up top or last? I think the best compromise may be four separate posts-per-quarter, but with the latest post on the bottom like yesterday.
1:06: Barrett Ruud runs down Brandon Jacobs on the outside. He's going to need a big day as Tampa's best tackler. Jacobs is probably going to have to find room inside the tackles. Giants go three and out.
1:08: Tampa's o-line holds up on the first down, and Garcia has time to find our man Joey Galloway. Don't really know why I need a favorite player each game to root for, but there it is.
Continue reading "Bucs-Giants LiveBlog, First Quarter" »
January 05, 2008
5:45: Welcome to a Saturday's almost-sorta Playoff liveblog. I won't be able to update the blog as much as I'd like, but will be checking in when I can the rest of the night with thoughts while my wife entertains friends only a room away! We will be here Sunday at 1PM for the Giants-Bucs game for a proper liveblog, with all the trimmings.
5:55: Joe Gibbs. vs. Mike Holmgren and we have a defensive battle? Washington's makeshift offensive line just isn't giving Todd Collins a chance. Neither are Collins' receivers, who have dropped three passes, one to kill a drive.
5:59: For all the Seattle domination, you are seeing some of the reasons why they have been a good, not great, team. The passing game is just a little of synch, with Matt Hasselbeck overthinking a few plays and missing some receivers. The running game started great, but has been inconsistent. The 2005 Seahawks would be up three scores by now. Of course the 2005 Seahawks wouldn't have a shutout. Patrick Kerney, Lofa Tatupu, and the boys are dominant.
Continue reading "Playoff Saturday Live" »
November 29, 2007
8:18: Got home in time to eat a quick dinner, and got the computer set up just as Deion Sanders told me to remember two words tonight: Nick Folk. Hmm...
I've been asked to try blogging this Pouliot-style, (all one entry), so we'll see how that goes. Let me know if you think I should keep latest entry up top or last. Can send me any thoughts to my email or in the comments.
8:23: The Packers start in their run-n-shoot set, going five wide to open the game. They test Jacques Reeves a couple times with results. Collinsworth tells us that they will test Reeves deep, and Anthony Henry underneath because Henry can't tackle right. And that's why Collinsworth is the best.
As the Patriots have shown this season, there aren't many teams with decent third and fourth cornerbacks. And the Packers have enough talent at wideout to test Dallas' depth tonight. Could be a big night for my man James Jones. Packers settle for a field goal, but I like the aggression.
Continue reading "Packers-Cowboys Liveblog" »
September 23, 2007
For the full service Rotoworld and Sunday Night Football experience, join the maniacs over on Rotoworld's Bears and Cowboys gamethread. Of course you'll have to keep a few windows open - one for the liveblog, one for the thread, and one for the box score. No excuses. Play like a champion.
September 07, 2007
The optimist in me would point out that the Saints offense looked nearly as bad throwing the ball in Week 1 last season against Cleveland (30 attempts, 170 yards). The Saints fan in me knows this season will get better, but Sean Payton's magic may not work quite as consistently this season.
All right, things we learned
1. Eric Johnson (8-for-56) is going to be a nice PPR option, especially against zone defenses.
2. Anthony Gonzalez (one target) may not be a big part of the Colts offense for a while. Ben Utecht may have been on the field more.
3. When Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister combine for 78 yards rushing against the Colts, you know it's a brand new season.
Continue reading "Things we learned" »
September 06, 2007
Not a great night for Devery Henderson - or anyone one the Saints offense. Five targets, two catches, 11 yards, and an ugly drop late in the game. Henderson has had problems with drops and toughness throughout his career. It's why the Saints drafted Robert Meachem to replace him.
The thing that made me shudder as a Saints supporter is that Henderson shied away from contact, causing the drop. We've seen this before.
Update: As I'm writing this, Henderson catches a 24-yard pass. Better than nothing.
Reggie Wayne's owner didn't care that his touchdown was ultimately meaningless.
Eric Johnson enthusiasts in PPR leagues enjoyed the hell out of that last drive (Hoiles now has 7-for-48, a great PPR night for a tight end).
Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Reggie Bush, and Deuce McAllister owners are all cursing Brees' latest fumble like it's a tie game.
And these stat-drive moments don't hurt my love of the game. I'd kill to have a competitive back-and-forth contest; there is nothing better than a great football. It makes me forget the stats. But the reality is this hasn't been a great football game. And I'm still enjoying watching it to the end.
Very close watchers of commerical breaks may have just seen the national debut of Pancake Blocks on the John Madden Verizon V-Cast commerical. After some dude throws a football that eventually topples a lawn sculpture, Madden makes a face, and Verizon begins to show the exclusive fantasy football content available on V-Cast.
They show an NBC logo, then for about half a second, on about half of the screen in the phone, they show half of me and Tiffany talking. If you blinked, you missed it. Mrs. Pancake Blocks had to rewind on Tivo a few times just to tell it was me. Glad I didn't tell my parents or anyone else to watch, but cool nonetheless. Rotoworld Nation has come a long way.
Why would you punt on fourth-and-inches down three possessions in the fourth quarter? The idea should be to win, not protect the scoreboard. I'll never understand this. It's not like fourth-and-inches is a low percentage play.
The Colts knew what they were doing when they let Jason David go. Just like Nick Harper. Sure, Reggie Wayne (who just burned David for a score) and Marvin Harrison are going to make most cornerbacks look bad. But teams just don't let good players walk, especially moderately priced cornerbacks like David who sign offer sheets as a restricted free agent.
There has been a lot of talk about the defensive players Indy lost, from their cornerbacks to Cato June, but a lot of them were a big part of a bad defense. The Colts will find out if their young starters Freddie Keiahoe, Marlin Jackson, and Kelvin Hayden are quality options. It's worth finding out because the old guys weren't that great.
One thing that Joseph Addai owners had to be concerned about was Indy's tendency to throw on the goal line. I watched Manning throw three straight inside the five during one preseason game, something that often happens in the regular season.
Well, this time Manning took one shot from the two-yard line before they called a run. And Addai punched it in. Maybe they will do it on first down more often in the future.
Maybe that playoff Colts defense is here to stay. Or maybe the Saints are slowly blowing a great chance to have a lead in a very difficult road game. The Saints defense has given up ten points and scored seven on their own. If not for a lucky bounce, this game would be a snorer.
Classic Joseph Addai half. Or at least the Joseph Addai I expect to see in 2007. He seemed active, but it's a surprise when you notice he has 88 total yards at halftime on 13 carries and a catch.
Do that again and you have a quiet 175 total yard day. He's a great slasher and always hits the right holes. Playing on the Colts practically guarantees him 100 total yards a game. He rarely does anything that wows you, though, and that's the difference between ranked in Big Three this year (LT2, Jackson, and Gore), and being ranked fourth. Addai owners won't mind one bit.
That's three catches for Eric Johnson. I'd tell you the amount of yards, but the play-by-play and box score is still having problems.
Watching Johnson work, it's not hard to see why he always gets hurt. He certainly isn't making anyone miss and he's a big target underneath who seeks out contact. The Colts have already leveled him twice, causing a fumble. A few more games like this and Johnson is going to be on the sidelines again.
Haven't seen Anthony Gonzalez on the field much tonight. John Madden made an interesting comment that the Colts want Gonzalez to be Brandon Stokley, but he's not yet.
I wasn't sure if Madden was trying to say that Gonzalez has been a slight disappointment thus far or just stating the obvious that Gonzalez is a rookie with a long way to go. Either way, I'm not buying him as a fantasy asset until 2008.
When I was talking about this game with people this week, I said no result would surprise me except a defensive struggle. While I'm sure this thing will loosen up, it's Offense 7, Defense 7 through 25 minutes
A nice early reminder that none of us know anything.
I doubt many fantasy owners enjoyed Jason David's long fumble return for a touchdown. Reggie Wayne loses a point, the Saints lose a possible drive, and a fantasy defense that almost no one could have active tonight.
Kudos if you did! Let me know.
The New NFL.com has been great, but their scoreboard is having some issues right now. Colts 1, Zephyrs 0.
The Saints decide to keep Jason David covering the left side of the field even when Marvin Harrison switches sides, and Harrison burns him for a 27-yard touchdown.
Big plays were a huge problem for the New Orleans defense last year. They probably will be again with David as a starter and Jason Craft behind him. You get the sense the Colts set that play up for a while with a lot of short stuff, then struck. And Harrison starts another year ahead of Reggie Wayne.
The Saints come out running, which shouldn't be so surprising. Reggie Bush gets more of the love early, but showed some of the problems he had in the first half all year.
He gets an inside run, but only goes two yards. He catches a swing pass, but backs up too much near the first-down marker, leaving the Saints in third-and-one. Bush then shows his versatility on an end-around he takes nine yards.
This game has all the makings of a shootout, but the Saints don't look interested. They want to grind out yards with runs and short passes.
Are you ready for some ... Kelly Clarkson? Nothing says football like ... This Kiss,
Ah well, less than fifteen minutes to go.
Robert Meachem is inactive for the Saints. One gets the feeling he wouldn't have even made the team if he wasn't a first-round pick.
Fourth running back Pierre Thomas is also inactive, with Aaron Stecker playing. Football Prospectus had a great stat that Stecker lined up as a wideout more than any running back except Reggie Bush, Brian Westbrook, and LaDainian Tomlinson. Just shows how Sean Payton views the running back position.
Update:I'm afraid of Robert Irsay.
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