Seven & Out – Week #10

Seven & Out – Week #10

By Michael – Louis Ingram-Associate Editor/Director of Scouting Football Reporters Online/ Contributing Writer-Black Athlete.com

 
PHILADELPHIA (BASN/FRO): The teams are approaching the top of the stretch, and as always, it will be not a matter of how one starts; but how one finishes.
Meanwhile, let’s get back to rollin’ those bones. Alright, shooter - the point is 10;
 
The NEW ORLEANS SAINTS defeated the St. Louis Rams 28-23 and improved to 9-0 for the first time in franchise history.  The Saints have scored an NFL-best 331 points, the fourth-most by a team in the first nine games of a season in NFL history.
 
 
(As the legions of fantasy fondlers masturbate at the sound of his name, I can’t find fault with 9-0; however, I can find fault with a contemptible punk like Drew Brees, who had the nerve to say the Old School retired players who helped him become a millionaire didn’t matter. With the overall offensive talent the Saints have, just about any QB could be successful with them now. So point blank – win some games in December, and a playoff game or two, and then we’ll talk. Until then, fuck Drew Brees - and the hobbyhorse he rode in on!)
 
 
Tennessee running back CHRIS JOHNSON rushed for 132 yards in the Titans’ 41-17 win against the Buffalo Bills.   Johnson, who leads the NFL with 1,091 rushing yards and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry, joined Pro Football Hall of Famer JIM BROWN (1963) and Vikings running back ADRIAN PETERSON (2007) as the only players in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards and average 6.4 yards per carry in a team’s first nine games of a season.
 
 
(We love Chris Johnson and the way he plays; but we have issues with the mainstream press ignoring Vince Young going 3-0 since reclaiming the starting spot; not, mind you, at the behest of head coach Jeff Fisher, but team owner Bud Adams. Hmmm - maybe the bird flipped by Adams after the victory over Buffalo wasn’t for the Bills’ fans after all).
 
 
San Diego running back LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns in the Chargers’ 31-23 win against the Philadelphia Eagles. Tomlinson recorded his 145th and 146th career touchdown and surpassed MARCUS ALLEN (145) for the third-most touchdowns all-time (JERRY RICE, 208; EMMITT SMITH, 175).  Tomlinson, who now has 12,145 career rushing yards also moved into 12th place for most rushing yards all-time.
 
 
(And, while Tomlinson is still being unappreciated in San Diego, Andy Reid and the Eagles continue to bitch up in prime time with their spineless approach on offense; I would rather have my defense go first and 10 from the opposition’s one yard line with no points scored than kick a fucking 8 yard field goal! Meanwhile 24 carries and two rushing touchdowns for L.T. and a game where Donovan McNabb threw for 450 yards, a career record – but still loses the fucking game - Lies, damn lies – and statistics; need I say any more?)
 
 
Arizona quarterback KURT WARNER threw two touchdown passes in the Cardinals’ 31-20 victory against the Seattle Seahawks.  Warner, who now has 200 touchdown passes, reached the mark in his 118th career game, becoming the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to accomplish the feat. 
 
 
(While Warner is a good guy, let’s remember that the throw means nothing – without the catch. Give Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston and Ben Patrick some love, too!)
 
 
Minnesota quarterback BRETT FAVRE passed for a season-high 344 yards in his 300th consecutive start (including postseason) in a 27-10 win over the Detroit Lions.  Favre’s 344 yards are the third-most passing yards in a game by a 40-year old quarterback in NFL history.  He trails only Pro Football Hall of Famer WARREN MOON (409 on October 26, 1997) and VINNY TESTAVERDE (355 on September 12, 2004).
 
 
(While Favre continues to rack up accolades, we know it took Testaverde at least a decade before he became a successful pro quarterback, and Moon was a star walking in the door.  As Minnesota seeks to fine-tune their potential for post-season success, they would do well to remember that #4 may make the noise, but #28 does the damage. Forget Adrian Peterson – and you can forget Miami; no matter how much swashbuckling is done).
 
 
Buffalo rookie safety JAIRUS BYRD registered his eighth interception of the season today against Tennessee.  Byrd has an interception in five consecutive games and is one of only two players since 1970 with an interception in five consecutive games in their first season in the NFL.  The other was Kansas City’s ERIC HARRIS in 1980 (six in a row).
 
 
(With all the noise made about young talent on the offensive side of the ball, a lot of defensive talent is taking a back seat due to the lack of publicity. Byrd has already proven to be a skilled ball hawk as a Buffalo Bill {like father, like son, right Gil?} and is a likely free agent prize-in-waiting should he remain healthy in a couple years; and Byrd is my front-runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Don’t let this one get away, Mr. Wilson!)
 
 
In a 41-17 win over Buffalo, Tennessee Titans head coach JEFF FISHER became the 10th head coach in NFL history to coach 250 career games (regular and postseason) with one team.  The Titans’ victory gives Fisher 136 wins for his career, tying him with Hall of Famer HANK STRAM for 20th all-time.
 
 
(They should subtract the 21 games Vince Young has won; since Fisher never wanted him quarterbacking his team in the first place. Rest assured, if he’s going to win any more games for the Titans, it will be with Young under center, if he knows what’s good for him).
 
 
 
Well, as always – once the point’s established, if you throw a seven, you’re gonna crap out!
 
 

 
mike@footballreportersonline.com
 
 
 
 

FRO's FAVORITE FIVE Top Five NFL Moments - Week 10

Photo: Lucas Oil Stadium-Where Peyton Manning trumped Bill Belichick ....

FRO's FAVORITE FIVE
Top Five NFL Moments - Week 10
by Jon Wagner, Sr. Writer-At Large, Football Reporters Online


#5: WARNER STARTS SLOW, FINISHES STRONG TO TIE FOUTS

After starting the 2009 season 4-0 on the road but just 1-3 at home, Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals appeared headed for another head-scratching home defeat. They trailed Seattle, which came in 0-3 on the road, 14-0 more than halfway through the second quarter, after being stopped on their first five drives. Then, Warner and the Cardinals caught fire, scoring on their next three possessions and on five of their next six, spanning the game’s final three quarters. In the end, the Cardinals scored 31 of the game’s final 37 points, to beat the Seahawks, 31-20. Warner finished the game throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 29 of 38 passes for 340 yards. It marked the 51st career 300-yard game for Warner, tying him with the legendary Dan Fouts for fourth on the all-time NFL list.


#4: SIDNEY RICE COOKS LION’S DEFENSE

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson calls his teammate Sidney Rice “Showtime,” but he didn’t come up with the nickname himself. “He’s got it tattooed on his arm,” Peterson said. ”It fits him well.” It certainly did on Sunday, in the Vikings’ 27-10 victory over the Detroit Lions, who joined the Houston Oilers (1982-84) as the only NFL teams to lose 31 of 33 games. Rice caught seven passes, accounting for 201 of Brett Favre’s season high 344 yards, to help the Vikings to 492 total yards of offense. It was the third time in four games that “Showtime” put on a show, as the Vikings’ 2007 second-round pick followed up receiving games of 176 yards in a win over Baltimore in Week 6 and a 136-yard effort in a Week 7 loss at Pittsburgh.


#3: BENGALS BEAT STEELERS AT OWN GAME

The Cincinnati Bengals resurgence this season doesn’t surprise me. After all, I picked them on our FRO Show as my surprise turnaround team of 2009 after their 4-11-1 season last year. I have to admit though, I didn’t think it would be the Bengals defense that would lead them back this year. I figured their defense would be better, but I thought a strong year from Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco would be leading the charge. And, although a 7-2 isn’t far off from where I thought they’d be at this point in 2009, I do find it hard to fathom that the Bengals have matched last year’s win total solely against their two biggest division rivals, after already sweeping both Baltimore and Pittsburgh. On Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Bengals, using a 96-yard kick return for a touchdown and a punishing defense, beat the Steelers at their own game, not even needing an offensive touchdown, to win, 18-12. Cincinnati held Pittsburgh to 226 total yards, sacked Ben Roethlisberger four times, intercepted him once, and most importantly, did not allow a Steeler touchdown. As a result, there’s a new balance of power in the NFC North, as the Steelers and Ravens are now chasing the Bengals this year.


#2: DUAL THREAT JOHNSON AND BIG 4TH QUARTER CARRY TITANS

At 3-6, the Tennessee Titans have had a very tough season overall, but one constant has been Chris Johnson. It’s just that now, Johnson’s exploits are leading to Titans’ victories. Johnson has been excelling all year long, but a lot of that came through an 0-6 start for Tennessee. Lately though, Johnson’s personal success has rubbed off on his teammates to the tune of a three-game winning streak. On Sunday, Johnson, as he has been all season, was a dangerous dual threat. This time, the talented running back reached triple digits both rushing and receiving, carrying 26 times for 132 yards while catching nine passes for another 100 yards. The second of his two rushing touchdowns broke a 17-17 tie with Buffalo, and started a huge 24-0 fourth quarter for Tennessee that was capped by the Titan’s defense returning two interceptions for touchdowns. Johnson is one of just three players in the NFL (the Ravens’ Ray Rice and the Rams’ Stephen Jackson, the others) who leads his team in both rushing and receiving.


#1: BELICHIK’S BLUNDER KEEPS COLTS UNBEATEN

Near the conclusion of NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast of the Indianapolis Colts’ stunning 35-34 comeback win over the New England Patriots, a happy Colts fan flashed a sign for the NBC cameras. It read simply, “Nobody Beats Colts.” Thanks to a huge miscalculation by Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick, those words remain true so far this season. The 9-0 Colts indeed had beaten everyone else so far this season, but to stay undefeated on Sunday, they needed someone else to beat themselves. With Belichik’s help, the Colts rallied from a 31-14 fourth quarter deficit to win a 35-34 thriller in the final seconds. Indianapolis still trailed 34-21 after a New England field goal with just 4:12 left in the game, but Peyton Manning led a 6-play, 79-yard drive in just 1:44, to cut the Patriots’ lead to 34-28 with 2:23 to go. Perhaps seeing how easily and how quickly the Colts marched down the field on that drive, Belichik then decided to do the unthinkable, going for a first down on 4th-and-2 from the Patriots’ own 28-yard line with 2:08 rather than punt the ball away and make Manning and the Colts earn the win with a typical long, two-minute drill type of drive. It initially appeared that the gamble worked, when Kevin Faulk had the ball past the first down marker, but he bobbled it, and was pushed backward while doing so, leaving him short of the first down. The Colts took advantage of Belichik’s failed risk, and moved to 9-0 on the season, going 29 yards on four plays in 1:47, winning the game on Manning’s fourth touchdown of the night, with just 13 seconds left. The irony in the Colts’ win is that it was their 18th straight regular season victory, finishing the 2008 regular season with nine wins and beginning the 2009 season with the same. That in itself isn’t ironic, what is though, is the fact that much is made (and rightfully so) of New England being the only team to go through an entire regular season with a perfect record of 16-0, and extending that to 18-0 in the playoffs. And, here was of all teams, New England, looking to prevent the Colts from going 18-0 over their past eighteen regular season games, and they had a great chance to do it on the Colts’ home field. But, because they couldn’t put the Indianapolis away with a big fourth quarter lead, Belichik panicked into giving the Colts a gift which allowed them to continue their own streak. Interesting stuff in Indy in the latest chapter of a great rivalry between two of the NFL’s best teams over the past decade or so.

JAGS DELIVER CRUSHING BLOW TO RYAN'S JETS 24-22

Photo: By Bill Menzel-Jets QB Mark Sanchez hands off to RB Thomas Jones

JAGS DELIVER CRUSHING BLOW TO RYAN'S JETS  24-22
by TJ Rosenthal for Football Reporters Online

This WAS a playoff game. This WAS the game that was slated decide the fate of the 4-4 Jets who stare down the barrel of a brutal second half schedule that includes the Pats, Colts, Falcons, Bengals as well as the always tough Bills in Orchard Park. A win on Sunday and the Jets could find a starting point for navigating through a harrowing November and December. It was not to be. A crushing 24-22 loss to the now 5-4 Jacksonville Jaguars,  has left the Jets desperate and needing help in order to reach the postseason. A far cry from a 3-0 start that had left many Jet faithful willing to believe this was NOT the "same old Jets." Well, doubt has crept back into Jet nation.

The Jets gave up 21 first half points and trailed 21-13 at the half. The malaise attributed to perhaps the two week layoff coming off of their bye week. Both S Jim Leonard and FS Kerry Rhodes were  quoted saying he team was flat defensively in the first half. That's a hard pill to swallow for Jet fans, especially since reports had coach Rex Ryan chewing out his team this week to stop the excuses, imploring them to play like a playoff team he was quoted as claiming they are.

Star RB, the little bulldozer, Maurice Jones Drew torched the Jets early and often , with 78 first quarter yards. He finished with 123 on the day. The biggest play of the game however, came on a TD that Jones Drew chose NOT to score on.  With the score 22-21 Jets with 1:48 left, the Jets called for "Free Way"  a play that allows the opposing team to score in order to get the ball back and have a chance to win. On the first try the Jets mistakenly tackled Drew. "We couldn't even get that right," Ryan, never at a loss for words, admitted afterwards. The second time, Drew shrewdly stopped at the one yard line. With no time outs left thanks to wasting two earlier ( to prevent a  twelve men on defense flag and the other by Sanchez on the Jags goal line), the Jets were forced to watch the clock wither away. Josh Scobee added the virtual extra point at the gun for the 24-22 Jags win.

This erased the comeback that left the Jets up 22-21 with 5:04 left thanks to a Thomas Jones (21-77 yds) one yard TD plunge. WR Braylon Edwards (3-79 yds) had a key two point conversion knocked out of his hands by the Jags FS Reggie Nelson. The throw was behind Edwards but still catchable. "Nelson is paid to make plays and he made a godd play on that one." Edwards said. The former Browns WR, known for the dropsies is now 1-8 combined in games played this year with Cleveland and the Jets. His fault? No, but the frustrations is apparent. "It stinks..its not my fault per se but I don't want to fell like the black sheep." he added lamenting what so many Jets who've come and gone in this franchise's consistent  losing history must feel upon exiting the stadium.

The Jets are not dead yet. They ARE however, on life support. The defense has still yet to create points off of turnovers. The Sanchez to TE Dustin Keller combo, so poised to break out and open up the passing game outside the numbers, is just missing the mark on too many occasions. All parts, including game management by the coaches, need to start clicking fast or this season will be gone by Turkey day.

As for Sunday, has a player ever taken a knee over scoring a touchdown in order to keep the clock moving like Jones-Drew did? Probably not. Only the Jets franchise would be involved in a play like that.

Nonetheless , the Jets need to go to Foxboro and try to begin to erase the ghosts of their Gang Green past that have somehow crept back into the equation. Worse, they need to do it against  the furious Pats, their hated rivals, who want revenge from their week two loss at the Meadowlands. Bill Belicheck's first place crew also will be stinging from the loss at Indy Sunday night that saw them go for a strange fourth and two on their own 28 yard line in order to prevent Peyton Manning one last shot. It backfired. 

The 4-5 Jets remain just two games  back of the 6-3 Pats. A  win would inch them closer to the top of the AFC East and  give them the tie breaker over New England. When the dust settles this week, that will be how Rex Ryan must frame this next test. As a game that, with a win, restores hope. To do that, Ryan will have to stop Brady and put the "Same Old Jets" talk to bed again. It's funny how these negative Green ghosts somehow rear their ugly heads every season.

A LOOK BACK ON THE THREE KEYS TO THE JAGS GAME:

Turnovers: The Jets defense, built off pressure and chaos, again, didn't get any. End of story.

Thomas Jones vs Maurice Jones Drew. Jones-Drew won the battle in yardage 123 to 77. He also made the play of the day by not scoring on the final drive.

Mike Sims-Walker vs Darrelle Revis: Sims Walker managed a TD catch but didn't dominate the field. Revis is a big play guy the Jets desperately need
going forward. An interception taken back by a ball hawk shut down corner like Revis, would aid the Jets offense in a huge way.

Follow TJ Rosenthal on twitter@ thejetreport

OaklandSeen- Aimee Allison & Zennie Abraham on KPFA

OaklandSeen is KPFA 94.1 KPFA Morning Show radio personality and twice candidate to represent Oakland City Council District Two (now-Councilmember Pat Kernighan won the race), Aimee Allison's new show where she talks about what's happening in Oakland. This was an interesting show in that it was produced at a makeshift studio within Revolution Cafe at 1612 7th Street in West Oakland, and across from the Oakland Main Post Office.

(As an aside, the cafe's real cool and has a nice collection of couches and overstuffed chairs. My only issue with Revolution Cafe is, at an 8 PM time, it closes too early. 10 PM would be great.)

Aimee Allison's 85-minute plus show featured Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners' member and 2nd Vice-President Margaret Gordon, Ronnie Stewart of the Bay Area Blues Society, Erica Torrence of People's Grocery, Aimee Allison, and me, Zennie Abraham. (The meat of the video starts about 20 minutes in; you can see and hear us set up before the actual show starts.)

The idea of this segment was to focus on problems and issues in West Oakland and Margaret Gordon , Ronnie Stewart, and Erica Torrence, who are activists in the area, were perfect. I learned a lot from them, but first and foremost I realized that the same problems we were working to solve in West Oakland during the 90s are still with us today: poor grocery stores with substandard food offerings and gentrification.

But it's also clear that in small ways West Oakland's becoming a better place to live and to be. As a result of Margaret Gordon's work, trucks must have special emissions-reduction retrofits before they can move through West Oakland. And more people like the owners of Revolution Cafe are discovering that they can do good business there. West Oakland is not, as some have said, a dumping ground any more.

We also talked about Oakland's World Cup Soccer bid and I learned that while 50,000 signatures are needed by December 4th, only about 2,500 have been collected. Margaret Gordon said that more people have to get involved in Oakland if Oakland is to improve.

While most of the time was used to talk about West Oakland, we also talked about the Oakland Parking problem and I explained that just yesterday a woman who drove down to Grand Avenue with her child watched in horror as her car was towed away for too many parking tickets; she was left to figure out how she was going to get her kid back home. (Remember, the "tow trigger" is five or more tickets and the City of Oakland's giving out more and more of them.)

I also talked about the Oakland Parking Initiative and what we were trying to do, but I didn't get enough time to talk about that more in depth.

(As a note, you should turn your speakers way up for the video.)

Miley Cyrus Tour Bus Crash leaves one dead

For some reason Miley Cyrus name is coming up in a tragic way of late. The first time was a not funny Internet trick, "Miley Cyrus Dead" which scared the heck out of me when I saw it but for a second. This time and just days later, "Miley Cyrus Tour Bus Crash" is real, but thankfully she was not involved in it at all.

According to TMZ.com and People Magazine, one of four concert tour buses carrying the lighting crew for Miley Cyrus show crashed this Friday morning outside Richmond, Va. There was one death - believed to be the bus driver as of this writing - and nine reported injuries.

"It was one of our tour buses, but not Miley's,” Miley Curus manager said to TMZ.com. "It was one of our buses that transported our lighting crew."

Miley Cyrus website reports that she's is set to perform Sunday in Greensboro, N.C. Officials for the concert told TMZ that the show would go on.

Sarah Palin Newsweek Cover: Runner's World pans photo use

Newsweek's in hot water with the editors of Runner's World Magazine, which did not approve of or like the use of their 'Sarah Palin' photo on Newsweek's cover. A photo that sparked a lot of complaints, including mine:



Runner's World wrote:

On the cover of this week's issue of Newsweek is a photo that was shot exclusively for the August 2009 issue of Runner's World, in which Sarah Palin was featured on the monthly "I'm a Runner" back page. The photos from that shoot are still under a one-year embargo, and Runner's World did not provide Newsweek with its cover image. It was provided to Newsweek by the photographer's stock agency, without Runner;s World's knowledge or permission.

And now that photo's all over the place and Newsweek, not Runner's World, is benefiting from it. OK, and so are a lot of publications and bloggers and vloggers. But, as I told my good friend Lars, Newsweek started it. That written, and regardless of the benefit to bloggers and vloggers, Newsweek was wrong and its not out of bounds for me to use their work to make a point against their actions.

Let's face it: it helped get my message out.

What will Runner's World do? Well, I think they've already done it. The question is what will Governor Palin do?

Stay tuned.

The Awl blog post not racist because it mentions black and white

The Awl is a blog started by ex-Gawker folks Choire Sicha and Alex Balk. I've got to admit I'd never read the thing until I happened on a testy take by Robert Quigley at Mediate.com, the blog by Dan Abrams that I do read regularly.

Robert Quigley accused The Awl of playing "the race card" or the "Twitter race card" in a rather amusing post called “What Were Black People Talking About On Twitter Last Night?”

My immediate thought was that I'm glad someone's interested. What Quigley and others don't understand or try to do is realize that there are differences in what people do based on race at times. In other words there are blacks like me who are not racially-trapped and have multicultural habits; whites who are more interested in a certain part of black culture, and so on.

Big deal. Sharing perceptions of differences is how we learn; it's when the perceptions are racially insulting that problems start. I did not see that in the Awl post, even though it did seem borderline. But I took at as tongue-and-cheek and no further.

You know, there's one thing I'm sick of and its this over-used child-of-the-Regan-era term called "The Race Card" and is habitually used mostly by someone who doesn't want the topic of race mentioned, even if the person doing so is pointing out racism.

That term and the use of it must be destroyed. It's political correctness run-amok and used by Couch Potato Conservatives all too often. Robert Quigley is not that, but by using the term he has something in common with the Sarah Palin's of the world.

Sorry Robert Quigley.

Anyway, as a black blogger, I take no issue with the Awl's blog post. In fact, it was rather cool.