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Michael Turner is number 1

Oh man, today we spin off into one of my favorite worlds. Today we look at stats.

Well…say it. “Stats can be deceiving.”

Yeah, but they also can be revealing.

How about this one? (and it comes from StatBeast. They have all kinds of cool widgets and stuff and wild stats on all kinds of things.)

Who are the top 4 rushing leaders in the NFL in terms of yards per game? (that equals out the bye week thing)

Here are your choices:

Michael Turner (Hey, he is already in the title.)
Clinton Portis (Proud member of my Fantasy Football Team.)
Brandon Jacobs (From the Super Bowl New York Giants.)
Julius Jones (Former Cowboy, now a Seahawk.)

You can only choose 4 (wanted to make it easy on you.)

That is right…Turner 108.6, Portis 102.8, Jacobs 95, and Jones 93.3.

LaDainian Tomlinson is 20th with 66.2.

Adrian Peterson is 5th with 90.4 and might be leading, but when my Fantasy Team needed him last week, Adrian only had 32 yards in 21 carries. Ouch! Check the story on Adrian and get a great picture of Lena Heady in the movie 300. She is the mother in the new Terminator TV show.

Adrian Peterson may be traded

Now you see how Michael Turner is 20 times better than LT!

Photo source Newscom

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LaDainian Tomlinson leading the orchestra called the Chargers!

Image details: CA: San Diego Chargers Mini Camp served by picapp.com

If you are into Fantasy Football then pay close attention. Mike Harmon of Fox Sports is going to let you in a little secret of his. Go with LT. You know, LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers.

What? You already knew that? How about some of Mike’s wisdom on the subject?

1. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego
Tomlinson has ranked inside the top 10 in this category in each of his seven NFL seasons. He’s led the pack in three of the past four seasons (third in 2005), as he possesses an amazing ability to avoid lengthy injury issues despite a heavy weekly workload. The change in his blocking block might have some impact, but I believe it’s been a bit overblown. Now, I don’t expect Tomlinson to approach his ridiculous 2006 output (28 touchdowns), but he’s averaged 14.5 touchdowns per year in his six non-record breaking seasons. The No. 1 player on my board will light up the scoreboard frequently in 2008.
2007 Total: 15 touchdowns
Projected 2008 Total: 18 touchdowns

source

So who does Mike rate after LT?

2. Marion Barber III, Dallas
3. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
4. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville
5. Joseph Addai, Indianapolis
5. Clinton Portis, Washington
5. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
Yes, that is 3 number 5’s.

Mike goes right on up to a number 13.

Controversy? No Stephen Jackson! Westbrook, a perennial favorite for fantasy owners, is way down the list. Ryan Grant in a tie at number 8?

Oh well, it is a start.

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LT runs the football for the San Diego Chargers.

He is the supreme back. LaDainian makes the Chargers the tough team to beat.

On June 23rd, LT will be 29 years old.

The NFL works almost in dog years and 29 for a running back is getting up there.

The question for the NFL and Fantasy Football team owners is at what age will production begin to tail off?

Hey, 29 does not seem too old to me. Your intrepid author would love to be 29 again, but then if you add in 7 seasons of 300 plus carries and it gets a little more problematic.

It’s true, Tomlinson will be 29 at the start of the 2008 season. While his age won’t keep him from being one of the first three backs taken in all fantasy drafts, it could be enough to make some owners take Adrian Peterson ahead of him. Tomlinson has recorded 300-plus carries in all seven seasons at the NFL level, and the injured knee he sustained late the postseason could be an indication that the wear and tear could set in soon. However, his value won’t fall until at least 2009 drafts. source

Fred Taylor

There are a lot of backs older than Tomlinson that had great seasons last year as well, like Fred Taylor. What Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Tom Brady looking for the Top 10 reasons the Patriots are 18 - 0

Today the discussion will center on the Top 10 reasons the Patriots are 18 - 0 going into the Super Bowl.

Think about that, 18 - 0. Amazing!

It is still regrettable that they did not face Indianapolis and Peyton Manning, they did not face a healthy San Diego Chargers and a healthy Philip Rivers or even just a healthy LT, and they did not face 38 year old rejuvenated Brett Favre and his young aggressive Green Bay Packer defense, or even the battle tested Tony Romo with Jessica Simpson and the Dallas Cowboys.

None the less, they did play the schedule handed to them and they did go 18 - 0. Other teams have received similar breaks and did not go 18 - 0.

For our guidance in this expose, you will be turned over to Tom Pedulla, USA TODAY.

Tom brings us his Eighteen reasons why the Patriots are 18 - 0, but that is way too high a number for us to contemplate, we will just pick out 10 of them.

Your intrepid author’s comments will be in italics.

1. Ownership: Success always starts at the top. Robert Kraft rolled the dice when he hired Bill Belichick before the 2000 season after the former defensive coordinator went 36-44 with the Cleveland Browns from 1991-95 in his only previous head coaching stint. Kraft is a supportive owner who wants to win but doesn’t meddle.

As a Lions fan, it is easy to see that it all starts (or does not start) at the top.

2. Coaching: Belichick can tie former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll by winning his fourth Super Bowl. His .833 postseason winning percentage (15-3) trails only Green Bay Packers legend Vince Lombardi (.900, 9-1). Belichick might not win any popularity contests in the NFL, but he gets results.

So why did he have to cheat? Oops, did that slip out? Really, the man seems to make all the right calls and somehow keeps everyone on an even keel.

3. Quarterbacking: More than a GQ cover boy and the boyfriend of supermodels, Tom Brady is putting up Hall of Fame numbers. He set an NFL single-season record with 50 touchdown passes and franchise marks for passing yards (4,806), completion percentage (68.9) and passer rating (117.2).

If you told me coming out of UM that this guy would go into the Hall of Fame, then you would have had to be committed, as in straight jacket. True, you could see the consistency and the short pass accuracy that was phenomenal, but… Come on? Tom Brady has become nothing short of amazing.

Put it another way. Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, and Tom Brady all come to your football camp before starting their careers. Who do you draft?

4. Leadership: New England is loaded with veterans Read more

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LaDainian Tomlinson - who was that masked man?

What was going on here?

Sure the Patriots won the game against the Chargers and now will face the Giants in the Super Bowl in Arizona, but what exactly was going on?

The Chargers were not telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. In fact, far from it.

It seems that Rivers was hurt more than we thought and so was LaDainian Tomlinson.

Let’s talk Chargers and then we will finish up by talking Patriots.

Ready? Here goes.

In a shameful act of reporting, Deion Sanders questioned LT’s manhood.

Deion? Wasn’t this the guy known as a cover defensive back, because he could not really hit guys? Wimp. Who is he to question a running back of LT’s stature?

Anyway, the Chargers were pulling some fast ones on the Patriots and the public.

First, Rivers.

While confirming that he needs surgery on his torn right anterior cruciate ligament, the quarterback revealed for the first time that he had arthroscopic surgery to clean out the joint a week earlier in order to play in the AFC championship game source

While leading all of us to believe Billy Volek would play quarterback and that Philip Rivers would have to limp on to the field, Rivers was secretly having surgery to get him on the field.

Rivers, lauded by his teammates for his gutsy play, said he’d like to have surgery as soon as possible on the torn ACL. “I’ll be ready by training camp,” he said.

Now how about LT?

Tomlinson missed Wednesday’s practice but worked out the rest of the week and wasn’t mentioned on Friday’s injury report. He hurt his left knee against the Colts, with the team saying then it was hyperextended, Tomlinson said after Sunday’s game that he has a sprained medial collateral ligament.

Tomlinson said he re-injured the knee when he was hit on the first play from scrimmage against the Patriots. He carried only twice, both in the opening drive. He caught a short screen pass the following series before retiring to the sideline for good, with more than 9:45 left in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, it was announced in the press box that Tomlinson had a “sore knee” and that he “can return.”

LT may describe it as a sore knee, but no one is going to play running back with a torn MCL. No one.

Deion, who had an out, the same one that we do, thinking LT was able to play, could not leave it at that and keep flapping his big mouth.

Sanders said he was under the impression that Tomlinson was close to 100 percent. “I have expectations, and when you don’t meet my expectations, you open yourself for us to try to guess,” Sanders said. “Now what’s the problem? You’re a big-time player. And big-time players must play big-time games.”

Sanders also said he thought Tomlinson’s injury would need to warrant a surgery “for him to get a pass on this one.”

To say the least, LT was not happy about those statements.

Tomlinson said he understands that teams don’t like to let opponents know what’s going on, and that it might lead to players’ toughness being questioned.

“I think the funny thing to me is, all the things I’ve played with through my career and haven’t missed a game, now all of a sudden I’m not tough?” he said. “You think I just wanted to sit on the sideline and not go, in the championship game? You think, me? Come on, man, that’s ridiculous.”

Team’s hiding injuries? No big deal really. All part of the cat and mouse game of the NFL pregame preparations.

The Big Story is the Patriots

Maybe the bigger story here is that the Patriots, Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and the gang, did not face the Colts and Peyton Manning, Packers and Brett Favre, or the Chargers and a healthy LT. If they beat the Giants and go undefeated then years later you will only see their record and remember them as a great team.

It is not the Patriots fault, but it sure would have been nice to see them play the next 3 strongest teams. Actually, since the Colts and Chargers played each other, that could never happen, so let’s make it the next 2 strongest teams going into the playoffs.

In all fairness the Giants have to be labeled the next strongest team at this time, with a chance to be the strongest.

Will the Patriots be a team of destiny and end the season undefeated?

The Giants and Eli Manning may have some say in that!

NFL Football Fan Question Are you picking the Patriots?

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Santa has revealed some of his Christmas gifts.

For the Patriots - a victory against the Giants to go undefeated.

For the Colts - another commercial opportunity for Peyton Manning.

For the Packers - one more shot at a ring for Brett Favre.

For the Raiders - the beginnng of the JaMarcus Russell era.

For the Chargers - a clear shot at the rushing title for LaDainian Tomlinson.

For the Lions - the most victories in one season under Matt Millen with 7 and a shot at a .500 season (one incredible gift).

For the Cowboys - home field advantage in the playoffs.

For the Dolphins - the Big Tuna.

There are more gifts from Santa Clause, but your intrepid author has to put on the red suit and do the kid thing.

Have a Merry Christmas and don’t forget to tell the ones you love how much they mean to you!

NFL Football Fan Question What did Santa bring you?

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The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to beat the St. Louis Rams 41 - 24, but at a great cost.

Willie Parker, the NFL’s leading rusher, left the game after the Steelers’ second play from scrimmage with a broken right leg, and the Pro Bowler is out for the rest of the season.
Parker, who entered the game with 1,317 rushing yards, got tackled by Rams linebacker Will Weatherspoon for a one-yard loss and his lower leg appeared to buckle as he crumpled to the turf at Edward Jones Dome. source

Who will win the rushing crown? Be sure to vote in the poll to your right and pick your winner!

This is how it reads as of today.

1. Willie Parker PIT 1316
2. LaDainian Tomlinson SD 1311
3. Adrian Peterson MIN 1278
4. Willis McGahee BAL 1197
5. Brian Westbrook PHI 1191

Parker with -1 yards rushing against St. Louis, ends up with 1,316 yards.

LaDainian Tomlinson early favorite

LT has been on a monster run with 177 yards against the Chiefs, 146 against the Titans, and 116 against my sad sack Lions. He has averaged over 6.8 yards per carry during the last 3 games.

LT is in this weeks Monday night game with Denver and although Denver is not very good against the rush, Monday Night Football is sometimes bizarre and how much will LT play in this game?

LT’s last game is the 4:15 game with the Oakland Raiders and they are a dandy 31st against the rush.

With the Chargers having the AFC West wrapped up, how much will LT play is another question.

Adrian Peterson the great challenger

Adrian Peterson is coming off the bizarre San Francisco game where he had 3 yards and the Bears game with 78 yards.

The Vikings play the late late game Sunday against Washington and the Skins are 9th against the rush holding opponents to under 100 yards per game.

The Vikings are still Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Baltimore Ravens Kate S

What is it another crazy ad on TV by Peyton Manning?

Is it some kind of play on words?

No, it is the Dog Days of the NFL. Mid Season with lots of bye weeks and the baseball playoffs going on.

Even NBA hoops is cranking up in its preseason.

So, besides Manning combing his hair, what is going on?

Glad you asked.

Big News: San Diego Chargers don’t know where there next game with Houston will be played. No, they are not confused or anything. It is the fires in California. The mayor is worried they made need to use the stadium as shelter.

Analysis: Does not matter where the Chargers and LaDainian Tomlinson play the Texans. The result will be the same. Pick - The Chargers.

Big News: Zach Thomas may not Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

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Chris Chambers is reunited with Norv Turner

There was a trade in the NFL.

Maybe nothing as blockbusting as TO or Randy Moss, but just the same it was a trade.

Trades are fun, because you get rid of your rotten player and pick up someone else’s great player or at least that is the way it plays out in our minds.

The reality is often different and confusing to evaluate.

This one is simple; Chris Chambers was traded from the Miami Dolphins to the San Diego Chargers for a 2008 second round pick.

On paper it is a win win. San Diego just lost Eric Parker with a broken right big toe and he is out for the season. Parker was the Chargers number 1 receiver. Now they have a new number 1 receiver, Chris Chambers. Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

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LT says all fancy running will be done by him, not the Raiders

LT is the greatest!

But not this year. At least so far. And now the Raiders are in town.

Marty ball is gone from the Chargers and Norv Turner has brought in a more complex system that everyone is still adapting to and trying to make work.

And if there is one Charger that has to have mixed emotions about this upcoming Raider game that would be Coach Norv Turner. Read more