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

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

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

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

If Adrian Peterson is wearing street clothes, can Chester Taylor be the man?

No, Adrian Peterson? Adrian has a bad hammy and will be a game time call.

Unfortunately, Peterson is on my Fantasy Football team and has to be put on the bench for LenDale White. Ouch.

The Vikings are hurting with a 0 - 2 start. They have benched young Tarvaris Jackson and are going with Gus Frerotte. If they lose for the third time in a row, the team may begin to unravel.

CBS Sports had this to say.

Look, I’m not about to pin the Vikings’ disappointing start on their young quarterback, but his inability to pass consistently and effectively is keeping the club down. In the season opener, the Vikes were comatose once they fell behind by more than seven. Sunday, they couldn’t score a touchdown nor pad a 15-point lead, despite rattling Peyton Manning and the Colts. But here’s my biggest issue with the Vikings: The next three games. They play Carolina, at Tennessee and at New Orleans. Uh-oh. Brad Childress’ unwavering commitment to Jackson is about to be tested.
source

The good news for the Vikings, if there is any good news to missing Adrian Peterson, is that his backup is Chester Taylor. Chester was the man before Adrian arrived last year. Chester Taylor may not be Adrian, but he can run.

Still you have to wonder how formidable is a lineup of Gus Frerotte and Chester Taylor?

Photo source Newscom

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

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

Gus Frerotte is dancing with a football attached to his helmet

Tarvaris Jackson out and Gus Frerotte in. The Vikings coaches have spoken.

Tarvaris can’t pass. This is news?

The move to Gus is a kick in the butt for Tarvaris. My guess is they want to fire him up, because they can’t be serious about Gus Frerotte taking them to the Division Championship.

“I’m just not seeing right now the aggressiveness from Tarvaris that I saw throughout the offseason, training camp, the two preseason games that he played in,” Childress said. “And part of it may be experience. I know Gus will give us that. And I know his approach will also lend itself to that.”

Jackson completed just 51 percent of his passes this season. He threw a game-ending interception at Green Bay that sealed the Packers victory and was partly responsible for the offense settling for five field goals and scoring no touchdowns in an 18-15 loss to the Colts.

source

Much to Tarvaris credit it seems to be working.

“I could easily hold my head low, keep my head down, you know, be a cancer to the team,” Jackson said. “I’m still frustrated and mad about the situation, but I’m going to use that as motivation to try to get better and just better myself for the future.”

Expect Gus to last 1 game and then Tarvaris to come back. The Vikings can’t win with only Adrian Peterson.

Photo source Newscom

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

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

Darren McFadden is learning how to hold the ball. Well, maybe not in this picture.

Image details: Oakland Raiders Rookie Mini Camp served by picapp.com

He is big. He is strong and he runs a 4.3. A legitimate 4.3. He is Darren McFadden, the top rated running back out of the draft.

Oakland needs him badly. They need excitement. They need Darren.

Last year they drafted JaMarcus Russell number one in the draft and he sat for most of the season with contract problems. Here is a guy that threw the ball 60 yards while on his knees. He has all the properties of a great quarterback.

Throw in Lane Kiffen, a coach that somehow has the ear of Al Davis as well as his confidence and Oakland fans have to be drooling.

Will they win a lot of games this year? Probably not.

Will they have a lot of highlights this year. It sure looks like it.

Start with Darren McFadden. Everyone is comparing him to Adrian Peterson. That is a lot to put on a rookie. Hey, Darren, go out and be as good as Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. All he did was break the single game rushing record and look like the best back since Barry Sanders played in this league.

Right now Oakland is being a bit more cautious and working on fundamentals.

But coach Lane Kiffin cautions about putting too much pressure on McFadden so early.

“He’s not here to save the franchise. He just happens to be our first pick of the draft,” Kiffin said.

One of the immediate priorities is working on McFadden’s ball security. He fumbled 15 times last season at Arkansas, although some of those came as a quarterback or kick returner as opposed to a tailback.

Rathman pointed out that McFadden carried held his elbow too far from his body when they first met before the draft last month and is working on fixing the flaw before the season.

“You’ve got to be a good fundamental football player, and that’s what we’re working on right now,” Rathman said. “Obviously, coming out of college his biggest negative was probably his ball security, so we’ve jumped on that early. He understands where we’re coming from. He’s using better technique, better decision on where he’s putting the ball at certain times. So he understands what he needs to do.”
source

At some point, the season starts and Darren McFadden gets revved up and the Oakland fans will go wild.

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

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

And out of the mist came Calvin Johnson

Why do we all think that later on we know better?

Let us go on record here. Your intrepid author wanted Calvin Johnson last year. Still do.

My friend, RonB, actually beat the drum for Adrian Peterson. Did he know something the rest of us didn’t? Maybe. Ask him.

Of course, it is easy to look backwards and say you should have picked the Lottery numbers that won.

Oakland, in my estimation, would have done better to trade their pick away for multiple picks. They are just too weak at many positions. But Al Davis was set on JaMarcus Russell and all his gaudy tryout stats. In other words, he fits the mold of a possible great one. How many of us disagreed with Al? Is that a hand in the back of the room?

Now there are many that are seemingly all knowing and criticize last year’s picks.

Is everybody finally ready to concede what’s now painfully obvious? The Lions blew it when they drafted Calvin Johnson last year with the second overall pick instead of offensive tackle Joe Thomas or running back Adrian Peterson. The final piece of damning evidence against the decision is the team’s preparation for next month’s draft. source

Now you put me in the position of defending the General Manager of the Detroit Lions, Mr. His Name We do not Speak. Not being privy to what other teams were really offering for the pick, Calvin was the obvious choice. Obvious.

Joe Thomas was a left tackle. The Lions had one already.

Adrian Peterson had a history of injuries in college and Kevin Jones was due to return and Tatum Bell was under contract.
Calvin Johnson would fit Mike Martz offensive scheme.

But, more important, the Browns and Vikings are both on an upward trajectory, thanks largely to those selections.

The Lions are headed downward.

The underlying message is irrefutable. Wide receivers aren’t building blocks for success. They’re merely supportive components.

Hope Jerry Rice is not listening or Randy Moss or Terrell Owens.

Wait, did he say the Browns and Vikes are headed up?

The Vikes improved because of Read more

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

Jessica Simpson was spotted everywhere!

What kind of year was 2008 in the NFL?

New England came within one game of winning all of their games, going undefeated, and yet we booed.

Tom Brady broke the season record for touchdown passes a couple of years after we said Peyton Manning’s record would never be broken.

Randy Moss broke Jerry Rice’s single season touchdown record and we cried, but you knew it would have to be an athlete like Moss.

The New York Giants won it all and yet some would call them only the 5th best team this year at best.

Another Manning in the Super Bowl, but not Peyton. This time it was Eli. How is he deserving? Oh, yeah they won the Super Bowl.

Jason Taylor left the Dolphins, because they are chasing youth after only 1 victory. They hired the Big Tuna to run things and will probably take the 1st pick in the draft and go for something boring like a tackle. Miami fans wonder what happened.

Seattle said goodbye to Shaun Alexander, the premier runner in our era in the NFC and Green Bay said goodbye to Brett Favre, the premier quarterback maybe in any era. Brett walks away with a boatload of NFL records and the key is that he walks away.

New Orleans and Katrina is beginning to fade from the national consciousness and with it we learned that the Saints are rebuilding, too.

Atlanta said goodbye to former college coach Bobby Petrino and Oakland kept former college coach Lane Kiffen, even though so far neither has accomplished much. Oh, and JaMarcus Russell made a lot of money to do nothing.

Dallas acted like the New York Yankees of football with Tony Romo, Jessica Simpson, and Terrell Owens providing theatrics and victories only to be upset in the playoffs. Now heads will roll.

Chicago fell from grace as defense only was clever for one year, but other teams caught on.

Jeff Garcia left Philadelphia after delivering the playoffs, because they have Donovan McNabb. He promptly went to Tampa Bay to deliver the playoffs. Several Bucs bolted for the Detroit Lions after the season stating insanity pleas.

Cincinnati arrested as many players as they could, but in the end only arrested their development.

St. Louis signed their quarterback to a huge contract and he disappeared. We don’t know his name anymore.

Adrian Peterson broke the single game rushing record and was briefly declared a god. Minnesota did not make the playoffs and his god status is now uncertain.

New England stole Read more

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

No one questions the skills of Darren McFadden.

He has it all.

The speed, the burst, the size, it is all there.

There are some questions, however, on the other side of the ledger and those questions will be asked at the NFL scouting combine.

Just what sort of character does he have?

Now before you dismiss that and say “So what?”, consider that Darren may get a 20 million dollar plus contract.

Last year, JaMarcus Russell received a 29 million dollar contract. If you screw up on a draft pick for those kinds of guaranteed money, you will be hearing about it for a very long time.

So, just what did Darren do?

That includes at least two reported altercations – the first occurring at a nightclub in Little Rock in July 2006 believed to have resulted in surgery on his left big toe; the second allegedly following an argument at a piano bar in Little Rock early last month. source

Ok, could have Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Ok, where is the Top Ten?

Sorry, Squibster is a little under the weather and in danger of being fired by the wife after a tough Valentines evening.

She took it well, but who knows.

Anyway, the USA Today Sports Staff in their Sports Scope article highlighted 6 coaches on the hot seat.

Ok, where is the Top Seven?

Your gallivanting author added the seventh. My comments will be in italics.

1. Brad Childress:

A five-game winning streak down the stretch may have saved him from the ax this offseason. But Childress must hope that stud RB Adrian Peterson can propel this team to the postseason or that his investment in Tarvaris Jackson as the starting QB doesn’t becoming his undoing. source

Jackson has a lot to show to become a good enough QB to take the Vikings to victory. Peterson is awesome, but so was Barry Sanders. Can a running back carry a team to anything more than a .500 record in today’s pass happy league?

2. Jon Gruden:

The win in Super Bowl XXXVII seems like so long ago. Gruden led the Bucs through the weak NFC South this season, but their playoff flop to the Giants exposed the team as a pretender. The heat will turn up significantly if this team doesn’t look like a Super Bowl contender next season.

Gruden’s job seems a little safer, because they did reach the playoffs with a weak team in a weak division, but so much more was expected out of Gruden when he came to Tampa Bay.

3. John Fox

The USA Today writers mention a weakening team needing a good draft and maybe a replacement for Delhomme at QB.

Fox is in big trouble, with only a very weak division to save him. North Carolina competes with the Saints, Bucs, and Falcons.

4. Mike Nolan

The USA Today writers mention that Nolan lost control of the team and the respect of his QB, Alex Smith.

This one seems so impossible a year ago Read more