All-Rookie and All-Sophomore Teams 2006

After an offseason of high expectations, it’s time to sort out which rookies lived up to the hype, and which ones delivered surprise performances. These are the best rookies of the 2006 season. Second team is in parenthesis.

Offense:

Quarterback- Vince Young, Tennessee Titans (Matt Leinart, Arizona Cardinals)

Halfback- Maurice Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars (Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints)

Halfback- Joseph Addai, Indianapolis Colts (Laurence Maroney, New England Patriots)

Wide Receiver- Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints (Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers)

Wide Receiver- Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh Steelers (Hank Baskett, Philadelphia Eagles)

Tight End- Owen Daniels, Houston Texans (Tony Scheffler, Denver Broncos)

Tackle- Marcus McNeill, San Diego Chargers (D’Brickashaw Ferguson, New York Jets)

Tackle- Andrew Whitworth, Cincinnati Bengals (Eric Winston, Houston Texans)

Guard- Jahri Evans, New Orleans Saints (Daryn Colledge, Green Bay Packers)

Guard- Davin Joseph, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Taitusi Lutui, Arizona Cardinals)

Center- Nick Mangold, New York Jets

Defense:

End- Mark Anderson, Chicago Bears (Mathias Kiwanuka, New York Giants)

End- Tamba Hali, Kansas City Chiefs (Elvis Dumervil, Denver Broncos)

Tackle- Haloti Ngata, Baltimore Ravens (Kedric Golston, Washington Redskins)

Tackle- Domata Peko, Cincinnati Bengals (Barry Cofield, New York Giants)

Outside Linebacker- A.J. Hawk, Green Bay Packers (Kamerion Wimbley, Cleveland Browns)

Outside Linebacker- Ernie Sims, Detroit Lions (Thomas Howard, Oakland Raiders)

Middle Linebacker- DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans (D’Qwell Jackson, Cleveland Browns)

Cornerback- Tye Hill, St. Louis Rams (Richard Marshall, Carolina Panthers)

Cornerback- Johnathan Joseph, Cincinnati Bengals (Cedric Griffin, Minnesota Vikings)

Free Safety- Dawan Landry, Baltimore Ravens (Cortland Finnegan, Tennessee Titans)

Strong Safety- Danieal Manning, Chicago Bears (Donte Whitner, Buffalo Bills)

Special Teams:

Kicker- Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots

Punter- Sam Koch, Baltimore Ravens (Steve Weatherford, New Orleans Saints)

Return Man- Devin Hester, Chicago Bears (Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys)

Round Distribution:

First Round- 18

Second Round- 14

Third Round- 1

Fourth Round- 6

Fifth Round- 2

Sixth Round- 2

Seventh Round- 2

Undrafted- 3

Which second year players built on good first year campaigns and are on their way to becoming great players?

Offense:

Quarterback- Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers (Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins)

Halfback- Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers (Marion Barber, Dallas Cowboys)

Halfback- Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins (Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Wide Receiver- Reggie Brown, Philadelphia Eagles (Braylon Edwards, Cleveland Browns)

Wide Receiver- Mark Clayton, Baltimore Ravens (Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers)

Tight End- Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers (Bo Scaife, Tennessee Titans)

Tackle- Jamaal Brown, New Orleans Saints (Khalif Barnes, Jacksonville Jaguars)

Tackle- Michael Roos, Tennessee Titans (Adam Terry, Baltimore Ravens)

Guard- Logan Mankins, New England Patriots (Todd Herremans, Philadelphia Eagles)

Guard- Evan Mathis, Carolina Panthers (Duke Preston, Buffalo Bills)

Center- Geoff Hangartner, Carolina Panthers (Chris Spencer, Seattle Seahawks)

Defense:

Line- Luis Castillo, San Diego Chargers (Matt Roth, Miami Dolphins)

Line- Trent Cole, Philadelphia Eagles (Chris Canty, Dallas Cowboys)

Line- DeMarcus Ware, Dallas Cowboys (Marcus Spears, Dallas Cowboys)

Line- Mike Patterson, Philadelphia Eagles

Outside Linebacker- Leroy Hill, Seattle Seahawks (Thomas Davis, Carolina Panthers)

Outside Linebacker- Derrick Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs (Michael Boley, Atlanta Falcons)

Middle Linebacker- Lofa Tatupu, Seattle Seahawks (Kirk Morrison, Oakland Raiders)
Cornerback- Bryant McFadden, Pittsburgh Steelers (Fabian Washington, Oakland Raiders)

Cornerback- Carlos Rogers, Washington Redskins (Corey Webster, New York Giants)

Free Safety- Kerry Rhodes, New York Jets (Nick Collins, Green Bay Packers)

Strong Safety- C.C Brown, Houston Texans, (Sean Considine, Philadelphia Eagles)

Special Teams:

Kicker- Mike Nugent, New York Jets (Dave Rayner, Green Bay Packers)

Punter- Dustin Colquitt, Kansas City Chiefs (Paul Ernster, Denver Broncos)

Return Man- Pacman Jones, Tennessee Titans (Justin Miller, New York Jets)

Round Distribution:

First Round- 19

Second Round- 12

Third Round- 5

Fourth Round- 6

Fifth Round- 3

Sixth Round- 3

Seventh Round- 1

All-Pro and All-Disappointment Teams 2006

The Pro Bowl is an honor. Being named All-Pro is something every player strives to achieve. But being named All-Blog? That’s outstanding. Here are my first and second All-Pro teams. There’s probably too much emphasis on statistics, but I think all these guys are great players. The linemen have to have been on the original Pro Bowl rosters. It’s going to shortchange some guys, but it makes things easier for me. Parenthesis indicates second team:

Offense:

Quarterback- Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts (Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints)

Halfback- LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (Stephen Jackson, St. Louis Rams)

Halfback- Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs (Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles)

Wide Receiver- Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis Colts (Torry Holt, St. Louis Rams)

Wide Receiver- Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts (T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati Bengals)

Tight End- Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers (Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs)

Tackle- Johnathan Ogden, Baltimore Ravens (Jamaal Brown, New Orleans Saints)

Tackle- Willie Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals (Chris Samuels, Washington Redskins)

Guard- Brian Waters, Kansas City Chiefs (Will Shields, Kansas City Chiefs)

Guard- Shawn Andrews, Philadelphia Eagles (Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota Vikings)

Center- Jeff Saturday, Indianapolis Colts (Nick Hardwick, San Diego Chargers)

Defense:

End- Aaron Kampman, Green Bay Packers (Aaron Schobel, Buffalo Bills)

End- Jason Taylor, Miami Dolphins (Leonard Little, St. Louis Rams)

Tackle- Ty Warren, New England Patriots (Warren Sapp, Oakland Raiders)

Tackle- Jamal Williams, San Diego Chargers (Vonnie Holliday, Miami Dolphins)

Outside Linebacker- Keith Bulluck, Tennessee Titans (Keith Brooking, Atlanta Falcons)

Outside Linebacker- Lance Briggs, Chicago Bears (A.J. Hawk, Green Bay Packers)

Middle Linebacker- Zach Thomas, Miami Dolphins (DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans)

Cornerback- Asante Samuel, New England Patriots (Ronde Barber, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Cornerback- Champ Bailey, Denver Broncos (Antoine Winfield, Minnesota Vikings)

Free Safety- Brian Dawkins, Philadelphia Eagles (Kerry Rhodes, New York Jets)

Strong Safety- Chris Hope, Tennessee Titans (Sean Jones, Cleveland Browns)

Special Teams:

Kicker- Matt Stover, Baltimore Ravens (Jason Elam, Denver Broncos)

Punter- Dustin Colquitt, Kansas City Chiefs (Brian Moorman, Buffalo Bills)

Return Man- Devin Hester, Chicago Bears (Justin Miller, New York Jets)

Now for the opposite spectrum. These are the guys with the dubious distinction of being the All-Disappointment Domain team. These guys failed to live up to their draft expectations, expectations of their new team and their standards, whether it be because of circumstance, injury or just being overrated. Parenthesis indicates second teamer.

Offense:

Quarterback- Eli Manning, New York Giants (Michael Vick, Atlanta Falcons)

Halfback- Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks)

Backfield- Mike Anderson, Baltimore Ravens (Fred Beasley, Free Agent)

Wide Receiver- Antwaan Randle El, Washington Redskins (Randy Moss, Oakland Raiders)

Wide Receiver- Brandon Lloyd, Washington Redskins (Michael Jenkins, Atlanta Falcons)

Wide Receiver- Chris Chambers, Miami Dolphins (Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons)

Line- Robert Gallery, Oakland Raiders (Walter Jones, Seattle Seahawks)

Defense:

End- Darren Howard, Philadelphia Eagles (Kenechi Udeze, Minnesota Vikings)

End- Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colts (John Abraham, Atlanta Falcons)

Tackle- Tank Johnson, Chicago Bears (Shaun Rogers, Detroit Lions)

Tackle- Corey Simon, Indianapolis Colts (Johnathan Sullivan, Free Agent)

Outside Linebacker- LaVar Arrington, New York Giants (Shawne Merriman, San Diego Chargers)

Outside Linebacker- Willie McGinest, Cleveland Browns (Boss Bailey, Detroit Lions)

Middle Linebacker- Kendrell Bell, Kansas City Chiefs (Teddy Lehman, Detroit Lions)

Cornerback- DeAngelo Hall, Atlanta Falcons (Chris Gamble, Carolina Panthers)

Cornerback- Ahmad Carroll, Free Agent (Ike Taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers)

Free Safety- Sean Taylor, Washington Redskins (Bryan Scott, New Orleans Saints)

Strong Safety- Adam Archuleta, Washington Redskins (Sean Considine, Philadelphia Eagles)

Special Teams:

Kicker- Mike Vanderjagt, Free Agent (Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Raiders)

Punter- Chris Hanson, Jacksonville Jaguars (Scott Player, Arizona Cardinals)

Return Man- Dante Hall, Kansas City Chiefs (Alvin Pearman, Jacksonville Jaguars)

All-Rookie and All-Sophomore Teams to come later today.

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles Game Recap + Power Rankings

Before I get to my thoughts on the Eagles game, my thoughts go out to Darrent Williams’ family and friends. This is a horrible tragedy, and I wish them all the best in handling it, especially what Javon Walker and his teammates went through Monday morning.

Onto the Eagles…

- This is probably the most exciting division championship we’ve had this decade. I should be getting used to it, but this team came back from a lot and really fought hard in the end. I hope everyone enjoyed their crow for their New Year’s dinner.

- I’m confident with what we have at the QB position. We obviously have an elite player with McNabb, a great veteran backup in Garcia and someone I’m very comfortable with at 3^rd QB in A.J. if we get that desperate. There’s no need to rush McNabb coming back at all.

- Ryan Moats needs to get more reps. His problems can be corrected with coaching. He needs to learn to get upfield faster and hit the hole harder and sooner. If he’s not going to get the chance here, send him to Houston or Green Bay for a draft pick so he can excel in a system that fits him. Get Reno Mahe out of here, please.

- I want to re-sign Donte Stallworth. As good as Baskett and Avant looked, we can never have enough depth at the position. Stallworth is one of the fastest players in the league, and his downfield capability adds a lot to the offense. Schobel is playing a lot better after a slow start. He can contribute a little bit.

- I love our Offensive Line. Every player on it. We have so much depth, I think we could put every player we have on the roster in at any point and not miss a beat. Cole is a great pass protector in the interior, but he could stand to add some lower body strength. It’s nice knowing that guys like Herremans and Andrews could bump outside whenever we need them to.

- Next year, Juqua Thomas is going to be signed by a team like Cleveland or San Francisco, a team that runs the 3-4 that needs a pass rush from OLB. Hell, the Eagles are making an audition tape for him by using him to blitz with his hand up. He’s going to get double digit sacks, he’s going to go to the Pro Bowl, and the Eagles are going to be criticized for letting him go. I’m going to say right now that that’s unfair. He deserves a chance to play regularly, and he fits the 3-4 OLB mold.

- Sorry Jerome McDougle. I feel bad because you’ve been hurt and had that offseason incident last year, but things aren’t working. Besides the dumb penalty against Tampa Bay, you’ve done nothing for fans to remember you for on the field. You seem to be able to stand up against the run, but you get no penetration, especially in a pass rush situation. It’s time to move on.

- Brodrick Bunkley. Finally getting good playing time, he showed what he can do, and what we can expect in the future. He showed great physical ability, and when he continues to get reps and receives good coaching, the mental part of his game will improve and he’ll become a great player. He’s very strong. He can push back any lineman in the league and has pretty good quickness. The problem is he’s very inconsistent in getting off the ball. Some times, he exploded out of his stance, got great penetration and made some plays. Problems arise when he doesn’t get a great jump and the lineman lined up across from him gets leverage. He has to learn how to use his hands, especially against pass protection. He needs to be able to smack down a lineman’s arms, rip, club, do some move to get past him. He needs to add a finesse game to compliment his power.

- I like our young Linebackers a lot, but I still think it would be wise to go after one of the big veterans available such as Briggs or Thomas. We’ve tried relying on young guys and in house changes at other positions before, and it hasn’t worked. Come on. We’ve learned our lesson, and we need to bring in someone else to improve the huge weakness on the defense. Gocong should end up in a Juqua Thomas-like role until he’s ready to crack the lineup. Gaither is a solid player on the weakside, and Dhani has to go at SAM. Torrence Daniels impresses me because he could line up at Defensive End when we were rushing three, but are you confident with him starting next year? The answer should be no.

- McCoy had the emptiest two sacks I have ever seen.

- What happened to Sheldon Brown? He used to be an All-Pro caliber player, but his season this year has been a joke. He’s getting penalized, giving up big plays and getting scored on frequently. He’s last year’s Sheldon Brown’s Lito Sheppard. The roles are completely reversed from last season.

- Why isn’t Mikell getting regular playing time? He makes plays whenever he’s in. I didn’t like him in preseason or last year, but he’s done pretty well this year. He can’t be worse than Considine, can he? I guess we said that about Considine replacing Lewis earlier this year though.

- Bringing Koy back to hold isn’t a bad move. As long as he doesn’t take any offensive snaps. The dude was bad enough when he was practicing with the first team last year and actually doing football related activities.

- The Falcons… I figured they would be mailing it home, but this game was ridiculous. Mora deserved to be fired. If he can’t get his team focused and ready to play (and beat) backups, he shouldn’t be the head coach of an NFL team.

- They’ve gotta do something about their offense. The Quarterback, receivers, Offensive Line, there are problems. I’m not sure if they can continue with Vick. He hasn’t gotten any better since his first couple seasons. He tries to do too much on every play, and he’s not good enough to be able to do that. He’s too indecisive, often eventually reaching poor decisions. Some of his passes are complete jokes. For as bad as his receivers are, he just throws the ball up like a hail mary sometimes expecting them to make plays. That’s not the way to play Quarterback. It’s almost as if he doesn’t care if he gets better or not. Not that I’m that confident in Schaub either. Atlanta should take any offer they get this year and run away with it, I’m sure it’ll be a steal.

- Their receivers remind me of the pre-TO days here. They drop passes, often times don’t get separation and just don’t add anything to the offense. I don’t’ know what they can do. They’ve trade free agents, draft picks and trades, nothing works.

- Their Offensive Line can’t pass protect. I don’t know a thing about their cap situation and how much Vick and their defensive stars are taking up, but they have to be able to do better than what they’re doing now.

- Now that I’m done pointing out what’s wrong with the offense, I like their running game. I like Dunn in the zone blocking (the Eagles did well against it this time, probably due to the inferior talent of Atlanta to Indy,) and I like Norwood. He can make some big plays, but he never really had a chance to get going this game.

- I’d like to see how this defense performs when healthy. Their DL was banged up all year, and I don’t think they played as well as they could have.

- DeAngelo Hall has to be one of the most overrated players in the league. He has to be. He talks so much trash and is always in the news, he gets named to the Pro Bowl, you’d think he’s one of the best players in the league. This season, he gets burned on big plays, commits dumb penalties and gets picked on a lot. He’s not an elite corner. Yet.

And now my last regular season power rankings. I’ll release a final version after the Super Bowl.

1. San Diego Chargers
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. New England Patriots
4. Chicago Bears
5. Indianapolis Colts
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. New York Jets
8. New Orleans Saints
9. Seattle Seahawks
10. Kansas City Chiefs
11. Dallas Cowboys
12. Denver Broncos
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Cincinnati Bengals
15. Tennessee Titans
16. New York Giants
17. St. Louis Rams
18. Jacksonville Jaguars
19. Green Bay Packers
20. Buffalo Bills
21. Carolina Panthers
22. San Francisco 49ers
23. Atlanta Falcons
24. Miami Dolphins
25. Houston Texans
26. Minnesota Vikings
27. Arizona Cardinals
28. Washington Redskins
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30. Cleveland Browns
31. Detroit Lions
32. Oakland Raiders

Lack of Updates

I've gone longer without an update than I would've hoped. Regular posting will begin again tomorrow with a Falcons/Eagles review, Power Rankings on Tuesday and we'll go from there.

Go Eagles.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys Game Preview

From Texas Stadium in Irving Texas, the Dallas Cowboys (9-5) host the Philadelphia Eagles (8-6) in a game that essentially decided the NFC East. The game will be broadcast on NBC at 5:00 PM Christmas Day with Al Michaels, John Madden and Andrea Kremer making the call.

Three keys for the Eagles to pull the upset:

1) PROTECT JEFF GARCIA. Garcia has a great feel for when the rush is coming and knows how to evade defenders, but the Cowboy pass rush comes from all different angles. The 3-4 has always been this Offensive Line’s Achilles heel, particularly in pass protection, and it’ll be interesting to see if they studied more film to try and anticipate the blitz. In the first meeting, DeMarcus Ware ran circles around Runyan and Thomas, and once again he should be the focal point before every snap. The line has to identify where he is before every play begins, communicate, and make sure that he’s picked up. He’s a great athlete and pass rusher and can wreck havoc on any offense, like he showed in the first half of the last meeting. Despite employing the 3-4 defense, the Dallas Defensive Linemen are pretty athletic and can get after the QB on third down. Ware isn’t the only weapon, and the Offensive Line will have to be solid across the board if they want to put up points.

2) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DALLAS’ SECONDARY. Although Terence Newman is very underrated and one of the premier corners in the league, the rest of the secondary is weak in coverage. At the safety position, Dallas still can’t find someone to play FS to compliment Roy Williams’ box ability. Keith Davis hasn’t been as bad as Patrick Watkins was, but he is still exploitable. Williams is a liability in coverage, and can easily be beaten by an athlete like L.J. Smith or someone on the outside like Stallworth when Roy is supposed to be playing a deep half. At corner opposite Newman, the Cowboys lack depth. Henry is a decent player that can make some plays, but sometimes he can be too aggressive and make mistakes. Aaron Glenn is old and broken down. The Eagles have to make the big plays against these guys. They did it in the first meeting, and they have to be able to do it again. The weakness in the Dallas defense is their coverage, and if Garcia has time to find open guys, he has to be able to hit them.

3) PRESSURE TONY ROMO. Let’s face it. He’s no Drew Bledsoe. Romo has enough mobility to matter, and as he showed in the most recent Giant game, he’s very good at moving around in the pocket to buy time for guys to get open downfield. He’s having a very good year in place of the veteran, and it’s mostly due to being a better athlete than Drew. Instead of being a sitting duck behind the mediocre Offensive Line, Romo can elude pass rushers and won’t take as many sacks. The Eagles have to apply the pressure like they did in the first game, despite the QB change. Their O-Line, particularly the interior, has never been known for pass protection. Darwin Walker did a great job against Kyle Kosier, and he can’t do anything less this time around. Darren Howard had his best game of the season, and he needs to step it up again when it really counts. Jim Johnson used some nice pressure packages in the first meeting, and he needs to be creative and do more of the same again.

Three key matchups to keep an eye on:

1) MARION BARBER VS. EAGLES’ FRONT SEVEN. Barber runs hard and has been very effective for the Cowboys this season. Although Julius Jones has rushed for 1000 yards and has been declared the starter for the Cowboys, Barber might be the true threat to worry about. He has a nose for the endzone and the Eagles have to hold Dallas to FGs if they get into the red zone. When Barber enters the game inside the 20, he’s going to score more often than not. The Eagles have to be prepared to stop the run not just in goal to go situations, but all over the field. As good as the Dallas passing game is, Parcells would love nothing more than to just run the ball all game long and keep the Eagle offense off the field. Although the run defense stepped up big last week against Tiki Barber, the weakness is still there, and Parcells will still try to exploit it. If the Cowboys can control the clock, they will win.

2) L.J. SMITH VS. ROY WILLIAMS. In the first game, we all remember the long reception Smith had on a play where it appeared that Williams blew coverage. It’ll be interesting to see if Smith can overcome his inconsistency and have a big game when he’s potentially being covered by a safety that’s known to struggle in coverage. L.J. is probably one of the more athletic Tight Ends in the league and is clearly very physically gifted, but sometimes he just disappears leaving everyone wondering what’s going on. His occasional drops also hurt, and he’s going to have to get past those problems and have a big game. He could be an important part of the Eagle offense if Dallas focuses on Westbrook and the Wide Receivers. If Garcia has to check down, Smith could be in for a lot of work. Not only should be frequently be checked down to, the Eagles need to take advantage of the mismatch that is him vs. Williams.

3) TERRELL OWENS VS. COMPOSURE. Last time, TO played poorly. It had nothing to do with his composure, but he clearly lost it a few times. Owens needs to stay focused and in the game, which has been a problem for him throughout his career. He can’t continue to drop passes and cost his team points, especially in a game where the Cowboys will need every point they can get. If TO gets frustrated again, he could take himself out of the game. He could develop alligator arms again, drop passes and stop giving effort and run sloppy routes. TO has to stay calm even if passes aren’t being thrown his way immediately or if the Eagles get a quick score. He can make plays, and he just needs to remember to keep his head in the game and let things happen.

Three players from each team that need to play well:

PHI:

1) Darwin Walker

2) Tra Thomas

3) Lito Sheppard

DAL:

1) Roy Williams

2) Flozell Adams

3) Terry Glenn

Key Injuries:

PHI- QB Donovan McNabb

PHI- DE Jevon Kearse

PHI- LS Mike Bartrum

DAL- OLB Greg Ellis

Number to remember:

2. It’s the number of times Romo will try to throw to TO on Dallas’ opening possession.

Final score:

31-27 Dallas. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m just not feeling confident.

Garcia- 275 passing yards, 2 TD, 1 INT.

Westbrook- 125 total yards, 1 TD.

Brown- 60 receiving yards.

Romo- 250 passing yards, 2 TD, 1 INT.

Barber- 50 rushing yards, 2 TD.

Owens- 65 receiving yards, 1 TD.

And my NFL picks (I chose GB at -3.5 and KC at -7, I’m going to make an effort to get these in on time. My total record is 17-17.)

Buffalo (-4.5) over Tennessee- Vince Young won’t be able to get away with another game like that again.

New Orleans (+3) over New York Giants- The Saints looked bad last week, but I’d imagine they can bounce back.

Atlanta (-6.5) over Carolina- Atlanta isn’t a good team, but Carolina is playing Chris Weinke regularly. Never pick on his side again.

St. Louis (-1.5) over Washington- Linehan has these guys going in the right direction.

Indianapolis (-10) over Houston- This point spread is too big and I usually don’t take games like these, but Houston stinks.

Baltimore (+3) over Pittsburgh- Pittsburgh has to protect Big Ben at least three times better than they did last time.

Cleveland (-3) over Tampa Bay- I can’t imagine Tampa Bay putting together that kind of game offensively two times in a row.

Chicago (-6) over Detroit- Grossman could be peaking at the right time, but is their defense falling?

New England (+3) over Jacksonville- I like the Patriots outright in this game. Garrard has to step up and play better.

San Francisco (-4) over Arizona- The unlikeliest playoff candidate continues their mediocre surge to the postseason.

Cincinnati (+3) over Denver- Even though they trounced Arizona, I don’t think the Broncos are back yet.

Seattle (+4.5) over San Diego- This is a risky pick, but I think the Seahawks can finally take care of business at home.

Philadelphia (+7) over Dallas- This line is way too generous to Dallas. They’re not that good.

New York Jets (+2.5) over Miami- The Jets need this one to continue fighting for the playoffs.

Due to a brief vacation next week, my usual game recap and power rankings will be put off until later in the week. See you then, and go Eagles.

Philadelphia Review 12/22/06-1/6/07

Philadelphia Flyers (8-22-4, 20 points)

5^th in the Atlantic

15^th in the Eastern Conference

30^th in the NHL

Past two weeks:

12/9 vs. WSH- L 5-3

12/12 vs. NYR- L 3-1

12/13 @ PIT- L 8-4

12/16 @ WSH L 4-1

12/19 vs. CAR L 2-1

12/21 vs. MON L- 4-2

Next two weeks:

12/23 vs. OTT

12/27 @ FLA

12/28 @ TB

12/31 @ CAR

1/2 @ NYI

1/4 @ NYR

Not much to say about these guys. 8 straight losses, seven of them coming in regulation. They just can’t play competitive hockey right now. They’re 4 points behind the next worst team in the league overall and 12 behind the next worst team in the East. Ouch.

During the week, the team made a couple of trades. They sent Freddy Meyer and a 3^rd round pick to the Islanders for Alexi Zhitnik, and then called the Isles right back a day later and traded Randy Robitaille and a 5^th round pick for Mike York. The first trade I thought was a pretty bad idea. Meyer could easily be a 2^nd pair D-Man for us, and even though he was struggling a little, he’s one of our younger players and we could’ve used him. Zhitnik doesn’t have much left in the tank. The second trade was pretty good. Robitaille is an older player who wasn’t contributing much. York is only 28 and is a pretty good player. We could either trade him down the road at the deadline, or extend his contract and keep a decent forward. Maybe the Flyers just plan on spinning Zhitnik to someone else at the deadline, but that trade just didn’t make sense to me.

Peter Forsberg continues to miss time with a concussion he suffered a week ago. Robert Esche should be returning from his surgery soon to give Niittymaki some relief. Gauthier and especially Rathje have a while to go to come back, and both Mike Richards and Sanderson are missing a few weeks because of sports hernia injuries.

The Flyers are beginning a pretty long road trip. They can either step up their game and play some actual competitive hockey, or they can fall into an even bigger hole. This is almost the same team that won a lot of games last year, so it’s hard to see what’s wrong. These next couple weeks will say a lot about their season.

Philadelphia 76ers (5-19)

5th in the Atlantic

15th in the Eastern Conference

30th in the NBA

Last two weeks:

12/9 @ ORL- L 86-84

12/11 vs. POR L 81-79

12/13 vs. BOS L 101-81

12/15 @ DAL L 93-79

12/16 @ SA L 103-98

12/20 vs. IND L 101-93

Next two weeks:

12/22 @ BOS

12/23 vs. NY

12/26 @ GS

12/27 @ SAC

12/29 @ POR

12/31 @ LAL

1/2 @ DEN

1/3 @ UTA

1/5 @ MIN

Well, the Sixers finally officially screwed up. Iverson was finally traded this week. He’s headed to Denver and coming back are Andre Miller and Joe Smith plus picks. The trade wasn’t bad because it’ll go a long way to help rebuild the team. Whatever. I talked about AI in my article below this, check it out.

The Sixers are going on a west coast swing that they’re sure to struggle on. Nothing to do now but let the young guys get a lot of minutes, let Andre help develop Iggy and Carney and hope for Oden.

The Sixers aren’t as far off the pace as the Flyers are, but they’re still clearly the worst team in the league. I expect Charlotte to gel and play better soon, and Gasol coming back will do a lot for Memphis.

Philadelphia Phillies

- Signed OF Jayson Werth

- Signed C Rod Barajas

I understand the need for a third catcher. It’ll allow Coste to get more at bats as a pinch hitter and play around the field more. I hope the team upgrades the outfield even further besides getting Werth, who I’m not sure about. There’s upside there, but he can’t be relied on.

Big Five + One Basketball

Drexel Dragons (7-2, 0-0)

6^th in Colonial Athletic Association

Last two weeks:

12/9 @ VILL- W 81-76

12/19 @ #21 CUSE- W 84-79

Next two weeks:

12/22 @ TEMP

12/28 vs. GMU

1/3 @ GSU

La Salle Explorers (6-2)

5^th in Atlantic 10

Last two weeks:

12/16 @ CCSU- W 86-73

12/20 vs. MORG ST- W 102-76

Next two weeks:

12/23 vs. VILL

12/28 vs. HC

12/29 vs. DEL

12/30 vs. NIAG

1/3 @ RI

Pennsylvania Quakers (6-4)

3^rd in Ivy League

Last two weeks:

12/9 vs. FORD- L 77-60

12/21 vs. ILL-CHI W 90-78

Next two weeks:

12/23 @ SHU

1/3 @ #2 UNC

St. Joseph’s Hawks (6-4)

8^th in Atlantic 10

Last two weeks:

12/9 @ LOUIS- L 74-64

12/10 @ OHIO- L 79-72

12/19 vs. MARY’S- W 55-51

Next two weeks:

12/28 vs. HOF

1/3 vs. DUQ

Temple Owls (5-3)

7^th in Atlantic 10

Last two weeks:

12/9 vs. CIN- L 80-71

12/16 @ TOW- W 75-70

12/19 @ BALL ST- W 75-70

Next two weeks:

12/22 vs. DREX

12/28 vs. LAF

12/30 @ VILL

½ @ #6 DUKE

Villanova Wildcats (8-2)

7th in Big East

Last two weeks:

12/9 vs. DREX- L 81-76

12/20 vs. RIDER- W 108-61

Next two weeks:

12/23 @ LAS

12/30 vs. TEMP

1/3 @ WVU

In the next couple weeks, there’s a handful of city games. Temple will take on Drexel and Villanova, and in addition to the Owl game, the Wildcats will play La Salle. There are also a couple of top 10 games to be played. Penn will challenge North Carolina and Temple will play Duke. The outlook doesn’t look good for either, but you never know.

Drexel is the talk of the town lately. With a win over Villanova and a top 25 team in Syracuse Bruiser Flint, in addition to having a badass name, is doing a great job with an experienced team. Villanova and Syracuse are both Big East teams that are very likely to be in the tournament, and it’s a good confidence booster heading into the CAA schedule, which is soon to follow. Hopefully the Dragons can use that positive momentum and get past a tough VCU team and other conference opponents. (in the Carrier Dome, no less,) the Dragons look poised to make a run this season.

Solid basketball continues to be played across the board. All six teams continue to be above .500, even though they struggled a bit the past couple weeks.

Look below for my AI article, and expect an Eagles/Boys preview tomorrow.

End of an AIra

Career Accomplishments:

- All Rookie Team (1997)

- Rookie of the Year (1997)

- Most Valuable Player (2001)

- All Star (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)

- All Star Game Most Valuable Player (2001, 2005)

- All NBA First Team (1999, 2001, 2005)

- All NBA Second Team (2000, 2002, 2003)

- All NBA Third Team (2005)

- Scoring Champion (1999, 2001, 2002, 2005)

- NBA Finals Appearance (2001)

- Hall of Fame (????)

Unfortunately, Allen Iverson’s decorated career in Philadelphia has come to an end. On Tuesday, AI was traded to the Denver Nuggets along with rookie Ivan Mcfarlin for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first round draft picks. Although Iverson is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and still a premier player in league, the Sixers were in a bad situation and couldn’t get very much in return. Considering what Billy King has done to this team in the past, the deal the Sixers got was pretty good. Miller, even with a pretty hefty contract will be able to contribute for the duration of it. He’s a “true” Point Guard who can help out the development of Iguodala, Carney and Green on the offensive end because he’s a great distributor. He can find teammates all around him and sees the court pretty well. Joe Smith will play here for the remainder of the season, not do much and he’ll be gone. The money coming off the books is what’s important about him.

The two first round draft picks are key. For one, this is a deep draft. The Sixers can sit on those two picks, which are almost sure to be in the late 20’s. They could add solid depth by going that route, but what I think would be better is use those picks and our early second rounder to trade back up into the lottery. It’s more important to get another better player in addition to our high lottery pick than to get a few decent players. The Sixers are building a decent core with Iggy and Carney, and if they continue to develop, they could lead the scoring. The Sixers need a serious low post presence and someone that can get the ball to our athletes. With additional cap room, the bench could be built through free agency and picks in future drafts, and all of a sudden, the Sixers have a basketball team again.

Unfortunately, Billy King is still in the fold, and none of those things will happen if he remains in a position of power. He has completely destroyed the team and ruined one of basketball’s greatest careers. His unfortunate ability to sign average players to mega contracts tied up the cap and prevented the team from getting any better. His complete mismanagement of the salary cap, trading away expiring contracts and contributing players combined with Larry Brown’s draft pick trading fetish prevented this team from ever retooling and making another run at the finals. Although King has a decent track record when it comes to the draft, he cannot be trusted with the task of rebuilding the team. If this upcoming draft is screwed up, it’ll set the team back ten more years.

But as bad as he is, my intention for this wasn’t to rip up Billy King. This is to talk about Allen Iverson and everything he’s done for this team and city. He’s had his share of controversies, sure. Off the court, Iverson always created a stir and gave his detractors something to complain about. From his never released rap album to a couple brief run ins with the law, AI was always in the news, whether he was playing basketball at the time or not. He had a tough life growing up and took advantage of a second chance given to him by Georgetown. For two seasons, Iverson proved he deserved that chance by not getting in trouble and turning in two great years on the court. When he broke into the league with Philadelphia he was often criticized for his selfishness, and the perception that he was a ball hog stuck with him the rest of his career, which is pretty unfortunate.

Iverson was always the best player on his team. From the second he was drafted to when he was traded, no one ever came close. The Sixers (with the obvious exception of the finals team) completely failed at building a team around their superstar. The numerous attempts to find a second scorer from Stackhouse to Hughes to Van Horn never worked. In 2001, the perfect team was built around him. There was a PG who could get the ball to AI (Snow,) three forwards that could play good defense and rebound (Lynch, Hill and eventually Mutumbo,) and a decent sixth man that could come off the bench and score points in McKie. Larry Brown lost a number of draft picks to get these players (and to acquire others in the future) and it was impossible for the team to bring in new players and get to the finals again. Since a lot of players that contributed to the finals run were aging, the Sixers couldn’t hang onto them and expect anything positive from them, so a revolving door of players began. Five years after the trip to the finals and it took a trade to Denver for AI to play with another All Star.

If someone were to make a tape to show young athletes how to play the game, it could easily substitute as an Allen Iverson highlight reel. Even though he was always the smallest player on the court, he played like he was the biggest. He showed incredible heart and passion for basketball, and always left it all out on the floor, every game. No exceptions. Winning games was important to him, and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to get the W. His reckless style of play led to a number of bumps and bruises along the way, but that was his game. If there was something he could do to improve the team, he would do it. He doesn’t mind throwing his body around against huge players or hitting the floor if it means getting the bucket and taking a foul shot.

Iverson gave everything to the city and team. He brought everyone together for one of the best seasons Philadelphia has had in a while, and led a team of average players to the playoffs numerous other times. He personified Philadelphia. There wasn’t anyone who worked harder than him, and he really brought that blue collar effort to the floor every night. Combine that with his great playing ability, and you get a special basketball player that we won’t see again for a while. The Sixers blew it. They had one of the greatest of all time, and they couldn’t build a team around him and make things work. So all I have to say is this: Good luck AI. We’re always going to have 2001, “practice,” the crossover and Jordan, and every shot you’ve made. Win a championship or two. Come back in a few years when things are better and the team can support you and win another. Retire as a 76er, just like you always wanted to do. Until then, I’ll gladly put on my Nuggets jersey and support you.

NFL Power Rankings- Week 16

Look below for my Eagles-Giants recap. I’ll have something up about AI in the near future. Someone needs to let me know when Nugget jerseys go on sale.

1. San Diego Chargers- Not even Charger fans expected a Rivers-led Charger team to be on the cusp of homefield.
2. Baltimore Ravens- Cleveland gave them a bit of a scare, but Boller improbably came through again.
3. Chicago Bears- All of a sudden, this great defense looks just a little bit beatable.
4. New England Patriots- Wins like that against Houston make people forget about Miami.
5. Indianapolis Colts- When Peyton plays they way he did against the Bengals, he can almost hide the poor defense.
6. Dallas Cowboys- TO avoids a suspension, and everyone gets exactly what they want on Christmas.
7. New Orleans Saints- The entire team looked out of sync against Washington, and these guys have to get back on track fast.
8. Cincinnati Bengals- Their offense has to play better than they did against the Colts if they want to do anything.
9. Philadelphia Eagles- Could the Eagles get a Christmas gift in the form of a division title?
10. Denver Broncos- Cutler is showing more promise, and these guys are hanging onto playoff chances.
11. New York Jets- One of the most unlikely AFC contenders won’t go away.
12. Jacksonville Jaguars- I wonder where this team would be if Leftwich had been able to stay healthy for once.
13. Tennessee Titans- What a game by the defense. They just made big plays all game long, and didn’t let Vince Young mistakes cost them.
14. Kansas City Chiefs- These guys are fading fast, and LJ is not happy.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers- On the contrary, these guys can’t be stopped.
16. Seattle Seahawks- Losing to the 49ers isn’t pretty. Not having this division clinched yet is even worse.
17. Buffalo Bills- These guys are quietly a solid team. If they retool the O-Line they could be talking about playoffs soon.
18. Atlanta Falcons- With their postseason chances teetering, they still have an important game against Philadelphia soon.
19. New York Giants- Tiki sure looked ready to retire when Trent Cole intercepted that pass late.
20. San Francisco 49ers- Who would’ve imagined these guys contending for the division in Week 16?
21. Miami Dolphins- They were on the wrong end of 21-0 this time.
22. Carolina Panthers- They’ll have a long offseason to evaluate everyone and what on earth went wrong.
23. Green Bay Packers- Is Brett Favre’s career finally ending this time around? Probably not.
24. St. Louis Rams- That was a complete win last week, but it’s only Oakland.
25. Minnesota Vikings- They’ll get a chance to see their future QB for a couple games.
26. Washington Redskins- A nice win like the one over the Saints will keep the guys motivated.
27. Cleveland Browns- It’s too bad their prize FA acquisition is already missing next season too.
28. Arizona Cardinals- It doesn’t matter how many playmakers they have on offense, that defense is an abortion.
29. Houston Texans- You have to wonder when these guys will come close to being competitive.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- I like Gradkowski, but Rattay really moved the offense well last week.
31. Detroit Lions- It’s completely ridiculous that Matt Millen has a job.
32. Oakland Raiders- Maybe next year. Or 2008. Or 2009.