A CHRISTMAS GAME TO REMEMBER
When you snuggle up before a warm hearth to watch this Friday night’s San Diego-Tennessee game, think about this: In the long 90-year history of the National Football League, there has been only one Christmas Day when postseason pro football was played. The figure is an oddity, in that a slew of playoff games once took place on either Christmas Eve or the day after Christmas, especially back in the days of 12- and 14-game regular-season schedules. Necessarily, that one occasion rates special attention. Thirty-eight years ago, two postseason divisional playoff games, one in each conference, were played on December 25, 1971. One of them instantly entered league annals as a classic.
While Dallas methodically defeated Minnesota 20‒12 outdoors in frigid Bloomington, Minn., in an NFC playoff encounter, the AFC Divisional Playoff confrontation that pitted the Kansas City Chiefs against the Miami Dolphins would turn out to be the longest game ever played in pro football history—82 minutes and 40 seconds, extending into two overtime quarters.
The final game ever played at Kansas City’s old Municipal Stadium featured an outstanding performance from Chiefs halfback Ed Podolak, who churned out 350 all-purpose yards—85 rushing, 110 receiving, and 155 on kick returns. The game was tied at the half (10‒10), tied after three quarters (17‒17), and tied after regulation at 24‒24. After the Dolphins knotted the game at 24‒all with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter, Podolak gathered in the ensuing kickoff and rattled off a 78-yard return to the Dolphins 22. But with 31 seconds remaining, Kansas City kicker Jan Stenerud pushed his 31-yard field-goal try to the right, and the game went into just the third sudden-death overtime game in NFL annals.
Both clubs missed field goal chances in the first overtime quarter. Stenerud’s attempt from 42 yards was blocked after a high snap and Miami’s Garo Yepremian failed from 52 yards out. Back then a team took possession at its own 20-yard line after an opponent’s missed field goal, not at the spot where it had been kicked as the rule exists today. Three minutes into the second overtime period, Miami started on its own 30 and ran five straight running plays from their Butch Cassidy (Jim Kiick) and the Sundance Kid (Larry Csonka) backfield, with Csonka’s 29-yard burst the key play. Seven minutes and forty seconds into the sixth quarter, Yepremian made good on a 37-yard field goal, and the longest game ended.
Stenerud could rightly be labeled the game’s goat, with his 31-yard miss near the end of regulation. Ironically, the Norwegian-born booter is the only pure kicker enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame to this day.
Miami went on to make the first of three straight Super Bowl appearances, a fine Christmas gift indeed. To the Chiefs’ future Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson, though, the afternoon felt more like the Grinch his mean old self had stolen Christmas from everyone in Kansas City: “It was a horrifying experience,” he said of playing in sudden death, “because one break is going to be the game.”
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. © Sportland 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Vikings, Chargers Day's Best Games
Two NFL games featuring divisional-leader matchups highlighted Week 14, as the NFC North’s Minnesota Vikings took out Cincinnati (AFC North) 30‒10 and, in the day’s best game, AFC West leader San Diego hung a 20‒17 defeat on Dallas, which had been tied for the NFC East lead with Philadelphia.
In the Metrodome, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer brought Cincinnati to within three points of the Vikings, with just under four minutes left in the first half, on a touchdown toss to Chad Ochocinco—an interesting misdirection-type play from the slot, in which the Bengals’ wideout headed toward the backfield as if on a reverse, before switching direction and gathering in the 15-yard scoring pass all alone. Minnesota followed up with a clock-eating, 14-play drive that netted a field goal to boost the Vikes to 13‒7 with just 35 seconds till the half. But the Norsemen weren’t done. A untimely fumble by Bengals running back Brian Leonard with just 13 ticks left opened the door for yet another Ryan Longwell field goal, and Minnesota danced into the locker room with the gift three-pointer—and the game—in hand.
In a tight game at the new Cowboys Stadium, the Chargers and Dallas put on an even display of talent and execution—only 10 seconds separated the time of possession between the two. In the end, though, it was just another December defeat for the snake-bitten Cowboys, who got a good performance from quarterback Tony Romo but lost All-World linebacker DeMarcus Ware with a sprained neck on a scary play early in the final period, when Ware’s head slammed into the knee of Chargers’ lineman Brandyn Dombrowski. Ware’s head and neck were immobilized as he was delicately lifted onto a stretcher and taken from the field. The game’s big defensive series took place earlier,just before halftime, when Dallas, with a first and goal at the San Diego 4, ran Marion Barber four straight times into the thick of the Chargers’ front wall. Four times San Diego rebuffed him. It was the Chargers’ eighth win in a row and their NFL-record 16th straight victory in December, dating back to 2005.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: Several NFL records were broken during the Denver-Indianapolis game, the biggest mark being the 21-reception performance by Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who eclipsed Terrell Owens’ 20 catches in a single game set in 2000 against Chicago, when the premier wideout was then with San Francisco. Marshall earned his record on Denver’s final offensive play. The Broncos faced fourth and 18 from their own 12, when Marshall grabbed Kyle Orton’s throw short of the first-down marker. The resourceful receiver, who grabbed 21 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns in the 28‒16 loss to the Colts, attempted a hook-and-lateral to trailing lineman Chris Kuper, who tacked on seven more yards but still fell short of the first down. It’s not surprising the pass reception mark fell in this day and age of total passing fancy. Just nine years separate Marshall’s and Owens’ feats. Before Owens, Los Angeles Rams’ Hall of Fame end Tom Fears held the mark (18 catches) for an incredible 50 years, dating back to 1950. Indianapolis made NFL history as well, forging the NFL’s longest win streak ever—now at 22 games and counting, breaking the recent skein of the 2006-07 New England Patriots.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at: alanross_sports@yahoo.com
© Sportland 2009
In the Metrodome, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer brought Cincinnati to within three points of the Vikings, with just under four minutes left in the first half, on a touchdown toss to Chad Ochocinco—an interesting misdirection-type play from the slot, in which the Bengals’ wideout headed toward the backfield as if on a reverse, before switching direction and gathering in the 15-yard scoring pass all alone. Minnesota followed up with a clock-eating, 14-play drive that netted a field goal to boost the Vikes to 13‒7 with just 35 seconds till the half. But the Norsemen weren’t done. A untimely fumble by Bengals running back Brian Leonard with just 13 ticks left opened the door for yet another Ryan Longwell field goal, and Minnesota danced into the locker room with the gift three-pointer—and the game—in hand.
In a tight game at the new Cowboys Stadium, the Chargers and Dallas put on an even display of talent and execution—only 10 seconds separated the time of possession between the two. In the end, though, it was just another December defeat for the snake-bitten Cowboys, who got a good performance from quarterback Tony Romo but lost All-World linebacker DeMarcus Ware with a sprained neck on a scary play early in the final period, when Ware’s head slammed into the knee of Chargers’ lineman Brandyn Dombrowski. Ware’s head and neck were immobilized as he was delicately lifted onto a stretcher and taken from the field. The game’s big defensive series took place earlier,just before halftime, when Dallas, with a first and goal at the San Diego 4, ran Marion Barber four straight times into the thick of the Chargers’ front wall. Four times San Diego rebuffed him. It was the Chargers’ eighth win in a row and their NFL-record 16th straight victory in December, dating back to 2005.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: Several NFL records were broken during the Denver-Indianapolis game, the biggest mark being the 21-reception performance by Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who eclipsed Terrell Owens’ 20 catches in a single game set in 2000 against Chicago, when the premier wideout was then with San Francisco. Marshall earned his record on Denver’s final offensive play. The Broncos faced fourth and 18 from their own 12, when Marshall grabbed Kyle Orton’s throw short of the first-down marker. The resourceful receiver, who grabbed 21 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns in the 28‒16 loss to the Colts, attempted a hook-and-lateral to trailing lineman Chris Kuper, who tacked on seven more yards but still fell short of the first down. It’s not surprising the pass reception mark fell in this day and age of total passing fancy. Just nine years separate Marshall’s and Owens’ feats. Before Owens, Los Angeles Rams’ Hall of Fame end Tom Fears held the mark (18 catches) for an incredible 50 years, dating back to 1950. Indianapolis made NFL history as well, forging the NFL’s longest win streak ever—now at 22 games and counting, breaking the recent skein of the 2006-07 New England Patriots.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at: alanross_sports@yahoo.com
© Sportland 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
If the Browns had stayed in Cleveland
Watching the unending forlornness of the current Cleveland Browns, mired in a thick soup of cloying ineptness, punctuated by Sunday’s mind-numbing one-point defeat with no time left to lowly Detroit, I can’t help but wonder: What if the original Browns were still in Cleveland?
Think of it. Ray Lewis would have been a Brown, easily the best middle linebacker ever in team annals, taking his place alongside storied Brownie linebackers Clay Matthews, Chip Banks, Galen Fiss, and Walt Michaels from earlier franchise eras, Michaels a mainstay on two NFL championship teams. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco would be a young illustrious hopeful like the legendary Otto Graham and Milt Plum and Dr. Frank Ryan and Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar had been before him—that rich Browns history made possible by the pioneering brilliance of head coach Paul Brown, one of the game’s great innovators, who brought science and study and high-level scouting to the pro game.
But maybe the best part of this dream scenario would be that if the true Browns had remained in Cleveland they would still have Ozzie Newsome. No, not Ozzie Newsome the Hall of Fame tight end/receiver; the current Browns already have him as part of the placating bone that then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue tossed Browns’ fans when the team relocated to Baltimore in 1996: an ill-conceived and unprecedented arrangement that left the team’s vibrant history in Cleveland awaiting some future expansion team while the club moved elsewhere, not to mention the dumbfounding three-year gap in the mid- to late-1990s where no team at all was in existence in the northern Ohio town. So the Browns already have Ozzie Newsome the player. But if the nefarious and egocentric Art Modell had not turned his back on Clevelanders and moved to Baltimore, Newsome would be the mastermind G.M. architect of today’s Browns, not the Ravens. That would’ve been Cleveland, with veteran Pro Bowl safety Rod Woodson, hoisting the Super Bowl XXXV trophy in Tampa, not Baltimore.
With Newsome has their G.M., the Browns would have had 11-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jonathan Ogden anchoring their offensive line for the dozen years that followed the franchise’s departure. While current Browns tackle Joe Thomas would be a welcome fit on any NFL team, imagine him teamed with the Ravens’ own spectacular rookie right tackle, Michael Oher; picture five-time Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed and the great rushing outside linebacker Terrell Suggs in orange and brown, not to mention three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Chris McAlister. Newsome brought in reconstructed pros, like the highly effective Woodson, too.
But of course, we have the scurrilous Modell to thank for the fact that all this is not happening in Cleveland today. When the onetime Browns owner’s pockets wore thin, Modell took the low road, opting for an offer from another city to salvage his miserly soul rather than simply selling the team and getting out of the game. It takes no historian to opine that Modell chose self-interest over the interests of an entire city. Today Cleveland still pays the price for his personal greed: the near-empty vessel of an expansion team still languishing in the doldrums of endless mediocrity.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Think of it. Ray Lewis would have been a Brown, easily the best middle linebacker ever in team annals, taking his place alongside storied Brownie linebackers Clay Matthews, Chip Banks, Galen Fiss, and Walt Michaels from earlier franchise eras, Michaels a mainstay on two NFL championship teams. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco would be a young illustrious hopeful like the legendary Otto Graham and Milt Plum and Dr. Frank Ryan and Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar had been before him—that rich Browns history made possible by the pioneering brilliance of head coach Paul Brown, one of the game’s great innovators, who brought science and study and high-level scouting to the pro game.
But maybe the best part of this dream scenario would be that if the true Browns had remained in Cleveland they would still have Ozzie Newsome. No, not Ozzie Newsome the Hall of Fame tight end/receiver; the current Browns already have him as part of the placating bone that then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue tossed Browns’ fans when the team relocated to Baltimore in 1996: an ill-conceived and unprecedented arrangement that left the team’s vibrant history in Cleveland awaiting some future expansion team while the club moved elsewhere, not to mention the dumbfounding three-year gap in the mid- to late-1990s where no team at all was in existence in the northern Ohio town. So the Browns already have Ozzie Newsome the player. But if the nefarious and egocentric Art Modell had not turned his back on Clevelanders and moved to Baltimore, Newsome would be the mastermind G.M. architect of today’s Browns, not the Ravens. That would’ve been Cleveland, with veteran Pro Bowl safety Rod Woodson, hoisting the Super Bowl XXXV trophy in Tampa, not Baltimore.
With Newsome has their G.M., the Browns would have had 11-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jonathan Ogden anchoring their offensive line for the dozen years that followed the franchise’s departure. While current Browns tackle Joe Thomas would be a welcome fit on any NFL team, imagine him teamed with the Ravens’ own spectacular rookie right tackle, Michael Oher; picture five-time Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed and the great rushing outside linebacker Terrell Suggs in orange and brown, not to mention three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Chris McAlister. Newsome brought in reconstructed pros, like the highly effective Woodson, too.
But of course, we have the scurrilous Modell to thank for the fact that all this is not happening in Cleveland today. When the onetime Browns owner’s pockets wore thin, Modell took the low road, opting for an offer from another city to salvage his miserly soul rather than simply selling the team and getting out of the game. It takes no historian to opine that Modell chose self-interest over the interests of an entire city. Today Cleveland still pays the price for his personal greed: the near-empty vessel of an expansion team still languishing in the doldrums of endless mediocrity.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Saints Shock Giants, Vikings barely escape
Eli Manning may have been going home to New Orleans Sunday, but he’d have probably rather cancelled the trip in hindsight. New York, undefeated atop the NFC East, got crushed by an opportunistic Saints offense that rang up 315 yards of total offense and 34 points by halftime, in what ultimately wound up a 48‒27 win. It was over just barely after the opening coin toss. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees peppered the No. 1 defense in the NFL with 259 passing yards and three touchdowns in the opening 30 minutes, the Giants offense unable to come close to matching the Saints’ furious firepower. The N.O. juggernaut will be tough to derail. In the whole NFC, only Minnesota carries a chance of upending them.
Along with New Orleans, Minnesota remains unbeaten in the NFC. In Minneapolis, the Vikes lost the handle on what looked like a relatively comfortable win over Baltimore, only to see the Ravens unleash a dramatic comeback to take a 31‒30 lead with 3:34 remaining. But as anyone knows who has ever seen a game in which Brett Favre is playing, something great, perhaps something horrible, but at the very least, something dramatic is going to take place. In this instance, with just under three minutes to play, Favre, on a second-and-6 from his 24, connected with wideout Sidney Rice on a 58-yard pass play to the Ravens 18. The drive stalled but the Vikings got the three-pointer they needed to take a 33‒31 lead. Then the Minnesota defense dug in to withstand a final Baltimore attack that came down to a 44-yard field goal attempt by Baltimore kicker Steven Hauschka. The ball just barely hooked left of the left upright, and Minnesota, for the second time this season, escaped on the final play of a game with a win.
There’s not much anyone can say about the sorry state of the Tennessee Titans. When things go bad they go very badly. In a harrowing 59‒0 obliteration in Foxboro, the Titoons looked like the Keystone Cops on a slick tabletop. Accumulated in that defeat were unfathomable passing numbers posted by ’Toons QB Kerry Collins, who likely never spent a day of such ignominy at any phase of his career, college or pro: Collins completed a stat-defying two-of-12 passes for the entire afternoon—for minus -7 total passing yards. Admittedly it was in the snow, but that same snow didn’t impede New England icon Tom Brady from logging a career day, including an NFL-record five touchdown passes in the second quarter alone.
But if you thought Collins and Tennessee were bad, you may have missed the New York Jets debacle against Buffalo. With a chance to atone for an inexcusable six interceptions, Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez bobbled the snap from center in overtime on what likely would have been the game-winning field goal, and New York went on to lose later in OT. Six INTS and a bobble of the potential game-winning snap. It had to be difficult for Sanchez to find a rock anywhere in the vicinity of the Meadowlands to hide under.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Along with New Orleans, Minnesota remains unbeaten in the NFC. In Minneapolis, the Vikes lost the handle on what looked like a relatively comfortable win over Baltimore, only to see the Ravens unleash a dramatic comeback to take a 31‒30 lead with 3:34 remaining. But as anyone knows who has ever seen a game in which Brett Favre is playing, something great, perhaps something horrible, but at the very least, something dramatic is going to take place. In this instance, with just under three minutes to play, Favre, on a second-and-6 from his 24, connected with wideout Sidney Rice on a 58-yard pass play to the Ravens 18. The drive stalled but the Vikings got the three-pointer they needed to take a 33‒31 lead. Then the Minnesota defense dug in to withstand a final Baltimore attack that came down to a 44-yard field goal attempt by Baltimore kicker Steven Hauschka. The ball just barely hooked left of the left upright, and Minnesota, for the second time this season, escaped on the final play of a game with a win.
There’s not much anyone can say about the sorry state of the Tennessee Titans. When things go bad they go very badly. In a harrowing 59‒0 obliteration in Foxboro, the Titoons looked like the Keystone Cops on a slick tabletop. Accumulated in that defeat were unfathomable passing numbers posted by ’Toons QB Kerry Collins, who likely never spent a day of such ignominy at any phase of his career, college or pro: Collins completed a stat-defying two-of-12 passes for the entire afternoon—for minus -7 total passing yards. Admittedly it was in the snow, but that same snow didn’t impede New England icon Tom Brady from logging a career day, including an NFL-record five touchdown passes in the second quarter alone.
But if you thought Collins and Tennessee were bad, you may have missed the New York Jets debacle against Buffalo. With a chance to atone for an inexcusable six interceptions, Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez bobbled the snap from center in overtime on what likely would have been the game-winning field goal, and New York went on to lose later in OT. Six INTS and a bobble of the potential game-winning snap. It had to be difficult for Sanchez to find a rock anywhere in the vicinity of the Meadowlands to hide under.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Patriots, Broncos hold off last-minute challenges
They needed the full 60 minutes, but hosts New England and Denver held off the last-ditch efforts of Baltimore and Dallas to highlight Week 4 activity in the NFL Sunday.
In a major early-season AFC confrontation, Baltimore looked a good bet to remain undefeated on its fall visit to New England but came up just short, as wide receiver Michael Clayton let quarterback Joe Flacco’s perfectly thrown fourth-down pass bounce off his chest on the Patriots’ 8-yard line with 28 seconds remaining, ending a Ravens fourth-quarter comeback from a 24‒14 deficit. Most surprising was Baltimore’s defensive lapse against the run. In its previous four games, the Ravens had not allowed a rushing touchdown. Against the Pats they gave up two scores on the ground. New England quarterback Tom Brady democratically spread 21 completions among nine different receivers in the 27‒21 win.
In Denver, malcontent wide receiver Brandon Marshall morphed into a Broncos’ hero with his broken field catch-and-run after taking a Kyle Orton pass on the Dallas 33, then zigzagging his way over foot-stumbling Cowboy defenders into the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown reception with 1:55 left to give Denver a 17‒10 lead. But it wasn’t over. Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, under pressure of late, did his best Houdini imitation, evading a strong Broncos rush on fourth-and-3 at the Dallas 27 and completing a 53-yard pass to Sam Hurd to the Broncos 20 with 59 seconds to go. Six plays later, at the Denver 2, Romo’s fourth-down pass intended for Hurd was tipped away by All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey, and the Cinderella Broncos shockingly find themselves, along with Indianapolis, undefeated atop the AFC standings at 4-0.
At New Orleans, a matchup of unbeatens played out, as the visiting New York Jets incurred their first loss of the season. The key play came on the first play of the second quarter with the Jets on the move at the New Orleans 15. First-year New York QB Mark Sanchez, looking to put the Jets up 7‒3, instead threw a pick to Saints safety Darren Sharper, who returned the interception 99 yards for a touchdown and a 10‒0 New Orleans lead. A Saints recovery of a Sanchez fumble later in the same quarter for another score plus Sharper’s second interception of the game with 4:20 to play sealed the win for undefeated New Orleans, which joins Minnesota and the New York Giants atop the NFC.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: In an oddity, the Saints’ explosive points-generating offense behind the passing of quarterback Drew Brees was outscored by the New Orleans defense, 14-10—a noteworthy statement on the strength of the Jets’ new-and-much improved defense under first-year head coach Rex Ryan…We regret there can be no commentary on Monday night’s mega matchup between Minnesota and Green Bay, with its contingent hoopla over Brett Favre’s return against his former team, but our column deadline is Sunday night.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
In a major early-season AFC confrontation, Baltimore looked a good bet to remain undefeated on its fall visit to New England but came up just short, as wide receiver Michael Clayton let quarterback Joe Flacco’s perfectly thrown fourth-down pass bounce off his chest on the Patriots’ 8-yard line with 28 seconds remaining, ending a Ravens fourth-quarter comeback from a 24‒14 deficit. Most surprising was Baltimore’s defensive lapse against the run. In its previous four games, the Ravens had not allowed a rushing touchdown. Against the Pats they gave up two scores on the ground. New England quarterback Tom Brady democratically spread 21 completions among nine different receivers in the 27‒21 win.
In Denver, malcontent wide receiver Brandon Marshall morphed into a Broncos’ hero with his broken field catch-and-run after taking a Kyle Orton pass on the Dallas 33, then zigzagging his way over foot-stumbling Cowboy defenders into the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown reception with 1:55 left to give Denver a 17‒10 lead. But it wasn’t over. Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, under pressure of late, did his best Houdini imitation, evading a strong Broncos rush on fourth-and-3 at the Dallas 27 and completing a 53-yard pass to Sam Hurd to the Broncos 20 with 59 seconds to go. Six plays later, at the Denver 2, Romo’s fourth-down pass intended for Hurd was tipped away by All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey, and the Cinderella Broncos shockingly find themselves, along with Indianapolis, undefeated atop the AFC standings at 4-0.
At New Orleans, a matchup of unbeatens played out, as the visiting New York Jets incurred their first loss of the season. The key play came on the first play of the second quarter with the Jets on the move at the New Orleans 15. First-year New York QB Mark Sanchez, looking to put the Jets up 7‒3, instead threw a pick to Saints safety Darren Sharper, who returned the interception 99 yards for a touchdown and a 10‒0 New Orleans lead. A Saints recovery of a Sanchez fumble later in the same quarter for another score plus Sharper’s second interception of the game with 4:20 to play sealed the win for undefeated New Orleans, which joins Minnesota and the New York Giants atop the NFC.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: In an oddity, the Saints’ explosive points-generating offense behind the passing of quarterback Drew Brees was outscored by the New Orleans defense, 14-10—a noteworthy statement on the strength of the Jets’ new-and-much improved defense under first-year head coach Rex Ryan…We regret there can be no commentary on Monday night’s mega matchup between Minnesota and Green Bay, with its contingent hoopla over Brett Favre’s return against his former team, but our column deadline is Sunday night.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Lions finally snap 19-game losing streak
It had to happen eventually. Even the 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went 0-26 to kick off their inglorious franchise, one day, mercifully, came to victory. It took 22 years before the game found a similar sacrificial offering to its predatory beasts. But Sunday, fans of football rejoiced in unison over the Detroit Lions’ first win in 20 games. The Motor City’s previously toothless and clawless Lions reached back for their longtime roar, putting together a solid first-half offensively, then holding on to defeat the Washington Redskins, who may now well inherit the Lions’ previous mantel of dubiousness.
On this day, first-year quarterback Matthew Stafford had his Johnsons working. Wideouts Calvin (five receptions) and Bryant (four catches, one TD) put punch into the previously anemic Lions attack, beginning with Bryant Johnson’s 21-yard first-quarter scoring reception that gave Detroit a 7‒0 lead. The Lions never trailed and closed it out at 19‒14. The key stat: Detroit converted 10 of its 18 third-down opportunities; Washington just two of 10.
And it’s obvious to all that the Tennessee Titans that went 13-3 and claimed the top seed in the 2008 AFC playoffs aren’t remotely the same team in 2009. The Titoons, committers of multiple errors against the New York Jets on Sunday, are now a ghastly 0-3 to start the season. Most egregious of Tennessee’s lapses were first-year returner Ryan Mouton’s two fumbled returns—one on a kickoff, the other a punt—that directly led to 14 New York points.
Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins connected on three of four passes, including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Nate Washington just 3:21 into the third quarter to give the ’Toons a 17‒14 lead. But Collins never completed another pass the rest of the way, going 0-for-13 through the remainder of the third and fourth quarters. Meanwhile, the Jets’ thanked Mouton for his second fumbled return and first-year New York quarterback Mark Sanchez hit wideout Jerricho Cotchery for 46 yards to help post 10 second-half points and send a forlorn Tennessee team back to Toontown.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: The Jets' Sanchez is the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first three games…In one of Sunday’s real noisemakers, incumbent Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh went down to its second straight defeat, this time at the hands of division rival Cincinnati, 23‒20. The Bengals waited until the final 18 seconds to complete a magnificent 16-play drive, on Carson Palmer’s short 4-yard scoring toss to Andre Caldwell. The game's key play: Trailing 13‒3, Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph returned a Ben Roethlisberger pass 30 yards for a touchdown, the Steelers’ only turnover of the game…Former Arkansas Razorbacks ‘Wild Hog’ star Darren McFadden continues to have problems making the grade in the NFL. The Oakland Raiders’ second-year back fumbled three times in the Raiders’ 23‒3 surprise loss to Denver. McFadden now has lost seven fumbles in 16 career NFL games. The Broncos, who looked like a preseason candidate to supplant Detroit as the doormat of the league, instead now stand 3-0 atop the AFC West.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
On this day, first-year quarterback Matthew Stafford had his Johnsons working. Wideouts Calvin (five receptions) and Bryant (four catches, one TD) put punch into the previously anemic Lions attack, beginning with Bryant Johnson’s 21-yard first-quarter scoring reception that gave Detroit a 7‒0 lead. The Lions never trailed and closed it out at 19‒14. The key stat: Detroit converted 10 of its 18 third-down opportunities; Washington just two of 10.
And it’s obvious to all that the Tennessee Titans that went 13-3 and claimed the top seed in the 2008 AFC playoffs aren’t remotely the same team in 2009. The Titoons, committers of multiple errors against the New York Jets on Sunday, are now a ghastly 0-3 to start the season. Most egregious of Tennessee’s lapses were first-year returner Ryan Mouton’s two fumbled returns—one on a kickoff, the other a punt—that directly led to 14 New York points.
Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins connected on three of four passes, including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Nate Washington just 3:21 into the third quarter to give the ’Toons a 17‒14 lead. But Collins never completed another pass the rest of the way, going 0-for-13 through the remainder of the third and fourth quarters. Meanwhile, the Jets’ thanked Mouton for his second fumbled return and first-year New York quarterback Mark Sanchez hit wideout Jerricho Cotchery for 46 yards to help post 10 second-half points and send a forlorn Tennessee team back to Toontown.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: The Jets' Sanchez is the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first three games…In one of Sunday’s real noisemakers, incumbent Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh went down to its second straight defeat, this time at the hands of division rival Cincinnati, 23‒20. The Bengals waited until the final 18 seconds to complete a magnificent 16-play drive, on Carson Palmer’s short 4-yard scoring toss to Andre Caldwell. The game's key play: Trailing 13‒3, Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph returned a Ben Roethlisberger pass 30 yards for a touchdown, the Steelers’ only turnover of the game…Former Arkansas Razorbacks ‘Wild Hog’ star Darren McFadden continues to have problems making the grade in the NFL. The Oakland Raiders’ second-year back fumbled three times in the Raiders’ 23‒3 surprise loss to Denver. McFadden now has lost seven fumbles in 16 career NFL games. The Broncos, who looked like a preseason candidate to supplant Detroit as the doormat of the league, instead now stand 3-0 atop the AFC West.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Jets, Bears claim big Week 2 wins
And you thought Tom Brady was back. He was back alright. On his back. The host New York Jets forced Brady to hurry 15 passes and knocked him down five times, ringing up the stunner of Week 2, when they took down their mighty eastern rival, New England, 16‒9, in a key early-season division matchup.
You wouldn’t have guessed the Jets’ success by the start. On New York’s first offensive play from scrimmage, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez was sacked for a seven-yard loss, fumbling on top of it, though guard Alan Faneca managed to recover it way back at the Jets’ 3. After the punt, the Patriots took over at the New York 49, but, just like their first series, could do nothing, going three and out. It turned out to be a microcosm of the afternoon. The Jets never let up on Brady, who, needing only a touchdown to tie in the fourth quarter, went a dismal 3-for-11 on the Patriots’ final two series. In between, New York made enough big plays—primarily Sanchez’s passes to Jerricho Cotchery and Chansi Stuckey—to post a touchdown and three Jay Feely field goals. For the first time since the 2006 season, New England failed to score an offensive touchdown. Looks like new Jets head coach Rex Ryan has given Bill Belichick something to chew on.
In rainy Chicago, where the Bears knocked off defending world champion Pittsburgh 17‒14, it was abundantly clear that the Steelers have no one to replace All-World strong safety Troy Polamalu. On a key fourth-quarter 29-yard pass play to Bears tight end Greg Olsen and again on the game-tying touchdown to wide receiver Johnny Knox, completions went over Polamalu’s replacement, Tyrone Carter. Still, it wasn’t the lack of defensed passes that beat Pittsburgh but rather their own usually reliable kicker, Jeff Reed, who uncharacteristically missed two makeable fourth-quarter field goals. New Bears QB Jay Cutler showed Chicagoans they’ll have lots to cheer about over the long season ahead, with his pinhole accuracy in crucial situations, including going 4-for-4 in the final game-winning drive that culminated in Robbie Gould’s 44-yard field goal.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: Who would have guessed last year’s top regular-season team in the AFC, Tennessee, starting out 0-2…Another Wk. 2 shocker: Cincinnati’s 31‒24 win over Green Bay. Bengals QB Carson Palmer spread the wealth among his three wideouts, each of whom scored a touchdown to support Cedric Benson’s 141 yards rushing…In San Diego, Baltimore’s tough guy in the middle, Ray Lewis, came up with the big defensive play all day, including stopping the Chargers’ Darren Sproles for a five-yard loss on fourth-and-2 at the Baltimore 15, as the Ravens won a big one on the road, 31‒26…the Giants waited until the final second to ruin Jerry Jones' new stadium unveiling in Dallas with a 37-yd. field goal.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sport
You wouldn’t have guessed the Jets’ success by the start. On New York’s first offensive play from scrimmage, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez was sacked for a seven-yard loss, fumbling on top of it, though guard Alan Faneca managed to recover it way back at the Jets’ 3. After the punt, the Patriots took over at the New York 49, but, just like their first series, could do nothing, going three and out. It turned out to be a microcosm of the afternoon. The Jets never let up on Brady, who, needing only a touchdown to tie in the fourth quarter, went a dismal 3-for-11 on the Patriots’ final two series. In between, New York made enough big plays—primarily Sanchez’s passes to Jerricho Cotchery and Chansi Stuckey—to post a touchdown and three Jay Feely field goals. For the first time since the 2006 season, New England failed to score an offensive touchdown. Looks like new Jets head coach Rex Ryan has given Bill Belichick something to chew on.
In rainy Chicago, where the Bears knocked off defending world champion Pittsburgh 17‒14, it was abundantly clear that the Steelers have no one to replace All-World strong safety Troy Polamalu. On a key fourth-quarter 29-yard pass play to Bears tight end Greg Olsen and again on the game-tying touchdown to wide receiver Johnny Knox, completions went over Polamalu’s replacement, Tyrone Carter. Still, it wasn’t the lack of defensed passes that beat Pittsburgh but rather their own usually reliable kicker, Jeff Reed, who uncharacteristically missed two makeable fourth-quarter field goals. New Bears QB Jay Cutler showed Chicagoans they’ll have lots to cheer about over the long season ahead, with his pinhole accuracy in crucial situations, including going 4-for-4 in the final game-winning drive that culminated in Robbie Gould’s 44-yard field goal.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: Who would have guessed last year’s top regular-season team in the AFC, Tennessee, starting out 0-2…Another Wk. 2 shocker: Cincinnati’s 31‒24 win over Green Bay. Bengals QB Carson Palmer spread the wealth among his three wideouts, each of whom scored a touchdown to support Cedric Benson’s 141 yards rushing…In San Diego, Baltimore’s tough guy in the middle, Ray Lewis, came up with the big defensive play all day, including stopping the Chargers’ Darren Sproles for a five-yard loss on fourth-and-2 at the Baltimore 15, as the Ravens won a big one on the road, 31‒26…the Giants waited until the final second to ruin Jerry Jones' new stadium unveiling in Dallas with a 37-yd. field goal.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sport
Friday, September 18, 2009
Steelers claim titanic NFL season opener
You would have thought it was the Super Bowl instead of the first game of the season. The NFL and NBC collaborated to give the 2009 NFL season kickoff a production that rivaled the spectacular opening of last year’s Beijing Olympics. What fans least expected was that the game rivaled any opener in memory for thrills and level of execution.
Before he left with a sprained left knee in the first half, Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu put on one of the all-time jaw-dropping displays of how to play the strong safety position, stuffing the opposing Tennessee Titans’ running backs behind the line of scrimmage and headhunting Titans receivers on pass routes. But the Steelers’ defensive warrior wasn’t alone with his elevated level of play. Both sides showed uncanny crispness, unusual so early in the season.
The game had the look of an old-school defensive battle, borne out by the scoreboard that showed a scoreless tie till nearly halftime. Both teams scored just before the half to make it 7‒7, and that’s the way it stood through three quarters too. Stars were many: Roethlisberger, Ward, Miller, Polamalu, Harrison for the steel town; Collins, Johnson, Gage, and the rookie Britt making plays for Tennessee—again, all with the mature execution one wouldn’t expect to see until midseason or beyond. The only glitch was two improbable field goal misses by the Titans’ normally automatic Rob Baronis. As events turned out, the miscues, which included a blocked attempt, would make the difference in the outcome.
With 12 minutes remaining, Tennessee’s Baronis finally connected on a three, making it 10‒7 Tennessee. Roethlisberger stepped up, sliding from tackles and using his incredible pump fake to freeze Titans defenders on a drive that would stall from a delay-of-game penalty. But Pittsburgh converted the three, and with just under three minutes to go it was tied again, 10‒all. Tennessee could do nothing and punted. With just 1:01 left, the Steelers appeared to have salted the game away, when Big Ben hit Hines Ward for 30 yards down to the Tennessee 4. But Titans safety Michael Griffin stripped the ball from the receiver. Overtime!
The only disappointment of the entire game came next: the coin flip that preceded overtime. Not that Pittsburgh won the toss, but that each team did not get the chance to touch the ball. That’s one of those archaic NFL rules that still finds a way to insidiously sabotage game outcomes, and I for one am no fan of it. It seems a slap in the face to the majesty of the game, especially one as hard-fought and evenly matched as this one, to have the outcome settled by something as fickle as a coin toss. Really, it’s an insult to the game. Let ’em both have at least one crack on offense, then let it become sudden death.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: It was fitting that the same combination that produced the last touchdown of 2008 should make the first one of 2009. Super Bowl XLIII heroes Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes hooked up on a 34-yard TD pass with a minute and a half to go in the first half to tally the league’s first points of 2009…New Orleans’ Drew Brees tossed six TD passes, but then, it was against the Detroit Lions. FOX Sports reported incorrectly that it was the first time the feat had been accomplished in an opener since 1950. No one threw for six scores in any of the league’s opening games that year…Adrian Peterson rushed for 180 rushing yards and three TDs to help make Brett Favre’s debut with Minnesota a smooth one. But then, it was against Cleveland.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Before he left with a sprained left knee in the first half, Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu put on one of the all-time jaw-dropping displays of how to play the strong safety position, stuffing the opposing Tennessee Titans’ running backs behind the line of scrimmage and headhunting Titans receivers on pass routes. But the Steelers’ defensive warrior wasn’t alone with his elevated level of play. Both sides showed uncanny crispness, unusual so early in the season.
The game had the look of an old-school defensive battle, borne out by the scoreboard that showed a scoreless tie till nearly halftime. Both teams scored just before the half to make it 7‒7, and that’s the way it stood through three quarters too. Stars were many: Roethlisberger, Ward, Miller, Polamalu, Harrison for the steel town; Collins, Johnson, Gage, and the rookie Britt making plays for Tennessee—again, all with the mature execution one wouldn’t expect to see until midseason or beyond. The only glitch was two improbable field goal misses by the Titans’ normally automatic Rob Baronis. As events turned out, the miscues, which included a blocked attempt, would make the difference in the outcome.
With 12 minutes remaining, Tennessee’s Baronis finally connected on a three, making it 10‒7 Tennessee. Roethlisberger stepped up, sliding from tackles and using his incredible pump fake to freeze Titans defenders on a drive that would stall from a delay-of-game penalty. But Pittsburgh converted the three, and with just under three minutes to go it was tied again, 10‒all. Tennessee could do nothing and punted. With just 1:01 left, the Steelers appeared to have salted the game away, when Big Ben hit Hines Ward for 30 yards down to the Tennessee 4. But Titans safety Michael Griffin stripped the ball from the receiver. Overtime!
The only disappointment of the entire game came next: the coin flip that preceded overtime. Not that Pittsburgh won the toss, but that each team did not get the chance to touch the ball. That’s one of those archaic NFL rules that still finds a way to insidiously sabotage game outcomes, and I for one am no fan of it. It seems a slap in the face to the majesty of the game, especially one as hard-fought and evenly matched as this one, to have the outcome settled by something as fickle as a coin toss. Really, it’s an insult to the game. Let ’em both have at least one crack on offense, then let it become sudden death.
ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: It was fitting that the same combination that produced the last touchdown of 2008 should make the first one of 2009. Super Bowl XLIII heroes Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes hooked up on a 34-yard TD pass with a minute and a half to go in the first half to tally the league’s first points of 2009…New Orleans’ Drew Brees tossed six TD passes, but then, it was against the Detroit Lions. FOX Sports reported incorrectly that it was the first time the feat had been accomplished in an opener since 1950. No one threw for six scores in any of the league’s opening games that year…Adrian Peterson rushed for 180 rushing yards and three TDs to help make Brett Favre’s debut with Minnesota a smooth one. But then, it was against Cleveland.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at:alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Chase field settled as Hamlin wins at home
Native Virginian Denny Hamlin finally got to take the checkered flag in his home state, but fans and spectators at the Chevy Rock ’n Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night had their eyes riveted further back in the field.
That’s where Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, and Kyle Busch were battling to make the final spot in the 12-man Chase field that begins with a 10-race schedule next weekend in New Hampshire. But before the race was a quarter of the way through, Kenseth was complaining of no grip on either the front or rear of the 17 car, signaling the beginning of a slow fade to black. The race for the Chase then pared down to a two-man battle between Vickers and Busch. With the aid of the lap-to-lap adjustable standings graphic, viewers were treated to the escalating or diminishing fortunes of the two as they raced hard throughout the evening, Busch running as high as fourth late in the race, but with Vickers usually only a car or two behind.
With 62 laps to go, Vickers passed Busch but dropped behind the 18 car in the race off pit row with only 17 laps to go following the 10th and final caution. Vickers stayed close, finishing seventh to Busch’s fifth, which gave the Red Bull Racing ace enough pad (eight points) to claim the 12th and final spot in the Chase.
It had to be devastating for Busch: a series-tying four victories (with Mark Martin) over the course of the regular season but unable to squeeze into the Chase field. The incongruity of it all is that if Busch had eked into the Chase field, he would have been the co-No. 1 seed along with Martin, since the standings kicking off the start of the Chase are determined by bonus points awarded for victories during the regular season.
But it seems odd to hear a NASCAR driver just eliminated from going to the postseason say, “We’ll just have to do our best in the next 10 races and look forward to next year,” as Kenseth commented afterward. One wonders when enough people who think the way I do about the existing Chase format will be large enough in legion to get the attention of the attention-deficit-disorder administrators of NASCAR, who are clueless that there is something terribly wrong with their format; that 31 cars who have all just been eliminated from the postseason still show up for all 10 races of the postseason.
That’s where Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, and Kyle Busch were battling to make the final spot in the 12-man Chase field that begins with a 10-race schedule next weekend in New Hampshire. But before the race was a quarter of the way through, Kenseth was complaining of no grip on either the front or rear of the 17 car, signaling the beginning of a slow fade to black. The race for the Chase then pared down to a two-man battle between Vickers and Busch. With the aid of the lap-to-lap adjustable standings graphic, viewers were treated to the escalating or diminishing fortunes of the two as they raced hard throughout the evening, Busch running as high as fourth late in the race, but with Vickers usually only a car or two behind.
With 62 laps to go, Vickers passed Busch but dropped behind the 18 car in the race off pit row with only 17 laps to go following the 10th and final caution. Vickers stayed close, finishing seventh to Busch’s fifth, which gave the Red Bull Racing ace enough pad (eight points) to claim the 12th and final spot in the Chase.
It had to be devastating for Busch: a series-tying four victories (with Mark Martin) over the course of the regular season but unable to squeeze into the Chase field. The incongruity of it all is that if Busch had eked into the Chase field, he would have been the co-No. 1 seed along with Martin, since the standings kicking off the start of the Chase are determined by bonus points awarded for victories during the regular season.
But it seems odd to hear a NASCAR driver just eliminated from going to the postseason say, “We’ll just have to do our best in the next 10 races and look forward to next year,” as Kenseth commented afterward. One wonders when enough people who think the way I do about the existing Chase format will be large enough in legion to get the attention of the attention-deficit-disorder administrators of NASCAR, who are clueless that there is something terribly wrong with their format; that 31 cars who have all just been eliminated from the postseason still show up for all 10 races of the postseason.
Monday, September 7, 2009
QBs dominate outlook as 2009 season opens
The return of Michael Vick, Tom Brady, and Brett Favre. The trade of Jay Cutler. The promise and potential of first-round picks Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez. The battle in Cleveland: Quinn or Anderson?
The 2009 NFL preseason uncovered a cornucopia of interesting developments, from the multitude of quarterback stories to five teams that headed into the final preseason game unbeaten. But preseason, traditionally, has been a difficult standard to gauge regular-season performance by. To illustrate, the hapless-of-late Detroit Lions are 7-1 in preseason since 2007, but have lost 17 regular-season games over that same period.
The undefeated teams were whittled down to three after preseason closed—Seattle from the NFC; Miami and Baltimore in the AFC—but only the two AFC teams appear to be serious contenders for high power rankings during the regular season. Baltimore presents the most intriguing possibility. A member of the tough AFC North division, the Ravens took league champion Pittsburgh to the limit last year, losing two regular-season contests and the AFC title game to the Steelers by a total of 16 points. But for a few plays, it could’ve been the Ravens in the Super Bowl against Arizona. The renewal of the Pittsburgh-Baltimore division battle will be a 2009 highlight.
Three teams went winless in the preseason: Carolina, Kansas City, and Arizona, with the most disturbing of these being the Cardinals. Last year’s Super Bowl finalist with the high-octane offense was shutout by Denver in its final tune-up. Only two teams in the NFC scored fewer points than the Cardinals in preseason, an ominous sign.
Among the quarterbacks generating headlines, the Cutler and Favre stories are likely to carry on well into the regular season. Favre’s continuing resurrection saga should give a true boost to the Vikings’ quest to down Green Bay and Chicago in the NFC North, a march that should see them go deep into the postseason. Vick gets his chance at redemption, though it’s evident he’s still rusty, and Brady’s return from injury, now including slight shoulder damage, will be watched closely. The highly touted rookies Stafford and Sanchez should start slowly, with Sanchez’s Jets giving him better operating room. In Cleveland, it probably won’t matter which QB starts. The Browns, after a basement-wallowing 4-12 campaign in ’08, have nowhere to go but up.
Super Bowl pick? Strictly for crystal-ball gazers, and we’re a long way out, but: Minnesota vs. Baltimore, with the Ravens taking home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at: alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
The 2009 NFL preseason uncovered a cornucopia of interesting developments, from the multitude of quarterback stories to five teams that headed into the final preseason game unbeaten. But preseason, traditionally, has been a difficult standard to gauge regular-season performance by. To illustrate, the hapless-of-late Detroit Lions are 7-1 in preseason since 2007, but have lost 17 regular-season games over that same period.
The undefeated teams were whittled down to three after preseason closed—Seattle from the NFC; Miami and Baltimore in the AFC—but only the two AFC teams appear to be serious contenders for high power rankings during the regular season. Baltimore presents the most intriguing possibility. A member of the tough AFC North division, the Ravens took league champion Pittsburgh to the limit last year, losing two regular-season contests and the AFC title game to the Steelers by a total of 16 points. But for a few plays, it could’ve been the Ravens in the Super Bowl against Arizona. The renewal of the Pittsburgh-Baltimore division battle will be a 2009 highlight.
Three teams went winless in the preseason: Carolina, Kansas City, and Arizona, with the most disturbing of these being the Cardinals. Last year’s Super Bowl finalist with the high-octane offense was shutout by Denver in its final tune-up. Only two teams in the NFC scored fewer points than the Cardinals in preseason, an ominous sign.
Among the quarterbacks generating headlines, the Cutler and Favre stories are likely to carry on well into the regular season. Favre’s continuing resurrection saga should give a true boost to the Vikings’ quest to down Green Bay and Chicago in the NFC North, a march that should see them go deep into the postseason. Vick gets his chance at redemption, though it’s evident he’s still rusty, and Brady’s return from injury, now including slight shoulder damage, will be watched closely. The highly touted rookies Stafford and Sanchez should start slowly, with Sanchez’s Jets giving him better operating room. In Cleveland, it probably won’t matter which QB starts. The Browns, after a basement-wallowing 4-12 campaign in ’08, have nowhere to go but up.
Super Bowl pick? Strictly for crystal-ball gazers, and we’re a long way out, but: Minnesota vs. Baltimore, with the Ravens taking home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at: alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Tire wear raises Kahne at Atlanta
It was appropriate that on a weekend when labor was being celebrated nationwide, the stress-subjected tires that carry the Sprint Cup cars around the track should also labor.
As Kasey Kahne notched his second win of 2009 in the Pep Boys Auto 500 at notorious Atlanta Motor Speedway, drivers, crews, and race fans watched a wild slip ’n slide unfold around the high banks of the 1.5 quad-oval. The race, like so many Sprint Cup events, showed strong cars for various segments of the 500-miler. Early on, pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. dominated. In their own turn, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamlin grabbed the top spot at various junctures during the first half of the 325-lapper, all looking solid enough to take a win.
But at the race’s midpoint, Kevin Harvick, coming out of pit lane 16th following the race’s fifth yellow, stormed through the field to take the lead within 32 laps of the restart. He looked like a surefire candidate for Victory Lane, as did Kahne who had sparred successfully with Harvick in some tight racing little more than 100 laps out from the end, issuing a harbinger of what was to come: Kahne won three restarts and one race off pit row in the final 117 laps. The race’s ninth and final caution, with just 16 laps to go, undid Harvick. Kahne, slow off the restart, got a push from behind on the inside lane that catapulted him past Harvick and on to the checkered flag.
To the casual observer, the race was an on-going all skate. All night long, cars got loose, plowing sideways down the straightaway coming off the turn or screaming across the grass, as Sam Hornish Jr. managed to do twice. At the core, it seems the tire was again the X factor. Testing heavily and successfully at Atlanta this past spring, Goodyear didn’t seem to have an answer for night racing on a tough track. Supposedly there would be more grip in the tires for the fall race with its cooler temperatures. That didn’t stop six cars from either wrecking or spinning out due to tires going down, not to mention two cars that busted rear axles. Racing setups went askew, as tire changes left pit crews and drivers clueless as to what to expect next.
Testing was banned for all teams this past season in an effort to curb the sport’s rocketing expenses. But Goodyear, not subject to the teams ban, is free to test to their heart’s delight. Perhaps Goodyear and the CoT design team should have lunch some time. They have a lot to talk about.
As Kasey Kahne notched his second win of 2009 in the Pep Boys Auto 500 at notorious Atlanta Motor Speedway, drivers, crews, and race fans watched a wild slip ’n slide unfold around the high banks of the 1.5 quad-oval. The race, like so many Sprint Cup events, showed strong cars for various segments of the 500-miler. Early on, pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. dominated. In their own turn, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamlin grabbed the top spot at various junctures during the first half of the 325-lapper, all looking solid enough to take a win.
But at the race’s midpoint, Kevin Harvick, coming out of pit lane 16th following the race’s fifth yellow, stormed through the field to take the lead within 32 laps of the restart. He looked like a surefire candidate for Victory Lane, as did Kahne who had sparred successfully with Harvick in some tight racing little more than 100 laps out from the end, issuing a harbinger of what was to come: Kahne won three restarts and one race off pit row in the final 117 laps. The race’s ninth and final caution, with just 16 laps to go, undid Harvick. Kahne, slow off the restart, got a push from behind on the inside lane that catapulted him past Harvick and on to the checkered flag.
To the casual observer, the race was an on-going all skate. All night long, cars got loose, plowing sideways down the straightaway coming off the turn or screaming across the grass, as Sam Hornish Jr. managed to do twice. At the core, it seems the tire was again the X factor. Testing heavily and successfully at Atlanta this past spring, Goodyear didn’t seem to have an answer for night racing on a tough track. Supposedly there would be more grip in the tires for the fall race with its cooler temperatures. That didn’t stop six cars from either wrecking or spinning out due to tires going down, not to mention two cars that busted rear axles. Racing setups went askew, as tire changes left pit crews and drivers clueless as to what to expect next.
Testing was banned for all teams this past season in an effort to curb the sport’s rocketing expenses. But Goodyear, not subject to the teams ban, is free to test to their heart’s delight. Perhaps Goodyear and the CoT design team should have lunch some time. They have a lot to talk about.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A Connecticut radio station out of Hartford will interview Alan next Monday (Labor Day) at 4 p.m. EST (3 p.m. Central) about Alan’s latest book, Away from the Ball, a look at the NFL’s off-the-field heroes. Paul Pacelli conducts the half-hour interview live on the Dan Lovallo program.
The station website is www.talkofconnecticut.com. Check it out. Perhaps they stream audio. Four AM stations around the state carry the program: WDRC (AM 1360, Hartford); WMMW (AM 1470, Meridian); WWCO (AM 1240, Waterbury); and WSNG (AM 610, Torrington).
The station website is www.talkofconnecticut.com. Check it out. Perhaps they stream audio. Four AM stations around the state carry the program: WDRC (AM 1360, Hartford); WMMW (AM 1470, Meridian); WWCO (AM 1240, Waterbury); and WSNG (AM 610, Torrington).
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thinning the Herd
It has struck me more than once while watching Sprint Cup action at Thunder Valley, a.k.a. Bristol Motor Speedway, that a wonderful venue for race watching provides fans a limitless opportunity to watch just about everything but, well, racing.
Saturday night at the Sharpie 500, 160,000 people watched Mark Martin completely dominate the race but, basically, lose it to the track. While taking nothing away from Kyle Busch’s late push that kept him slightly ahead of Martin for the final 67 laps, it was a logjam of traffic back on Lap 317 that turned the race. That’s when Martin, with a large lead, pulled up behind backmarker Kasey Kahne, who was down two laps. Martin waited forever behind Kahne but couldn’t pass him. Eventually second-place Jimmie Johnson caught up to Martin and, providentially, chose the correct lane that resulted in a pass of the leader. Busch’s march to the front soon followed. But as I said, I’m not here to discuss Busch’s race-winning merits.
I’m here to throw down the gauntlet: chop the field at short track races. Now, I like the three-ring circus environment accompanying short-track racing like everyone else; every seat in the house takes in the whole race, not just the section of the track where you’re seated. But packing 43 sardines into a tin can doesn’t make them taste better. There’s just more of them. Speeds at Bristol only slightly surpass what you and I achieve on the interstate. But the worst part from the viewers’ standpoint is the perpetual pack of cars at the rear of the field, affectionately known in the trade as backmarkers. In my humble opinion, no backmarker should ever determine the outcome of a race, but that’s exactly what Kahne did to Martin at Bristol, albeit unintentionally. Poor Kahne. He had absolutely nowhere to go. At Bristol, the high line on the turns, though frequented by the occasional Earnhardt Jrs. of the sport, is the only out-of-the-way lane at Bristol. That line, however, feeds out onto the primary racing line on both straightaways, a formula for inevitable mayhem, not unlike Darlington. That mayhem occurred with 62 laps remaining, when a multiple-car wreck took place as a result of the pack trying to go three wide, trying for four, down the back straightaway.
Basically, the cars are all held hostage at Bristol: Too many cars crammed into too small a space. Any movement at all is rarely made without peril, stupidity, or blind luck. Seldom is racing skill employed; just survival techniques.
Sadly, a frustrated Martin, halted on track with the rest of the field by a red flag near the race’s end that would only allow for four green-flag laps to close it out, could be heard plaintively from the cockpit of the 5 car: “Why do they have to wreck?!,” Martin said wearily over his in-car radio. “I just wish we could’ve raced for it.”
On that note I would ask NASCAR: Why not cut the field for races at Bristol and Martinsville? Forty-three cars can’t maneuver on a short track, much less really race. (I don’t want to hear this who-shot-John stuff about sponsor money.) It’s rush-hour traffic on a half-mile oval with no place to go. That’s not racing. Six cautions, including the red flag, in the final 42 miles? I’m with Martin. Why can’t they just race? Thin the field for the short tracks.
Read Alan Ross’ article “Leaping Lords,” on receivers Larry Fitzgerald and R. C. Owens in the current issue of Lindy’s Pro Football 2009 Preview at newsstands everywhere. E-mail: alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Saturday night at the Sharpie 500, 160,000 people watched Mark Martin completely dominate the race but, basically, lose it to the track. While taking nothing away from Kyle Busch’s late push that kept him slightly ahead of Martin for the final 67 laps, it was a logjam of traffic back on Lap 317 that turned the race. That’s when Martin, with a large lead, pulled up behind backmarker Kasey Kahne, who was down two laps. Martin waited forever behind Kahne but couldn’t pass him. Eventually second-place Jimmie Johnson caught up to Martin and, providentially, chose the correct lane that resulted in a pass of the leader. Busch’s march to the front soon followed. But as I said, I’m not here to discuss Busch’s race-winning merits.
I’m here to throw down the gauntlet: chop the field at short track races. Now, I like the three-ring circus environment accompanying short-track racing like everyone else; every seat in the house takes in the whole race, not just the section of the track where you’re seated. But packing 43 sardines into a tin can doesn’t make them taste better. There’s just more of them. Speeds at Bristol only slightly surpass what you and I achieve on the interstate. But the worst part from the viewers’ standpoint is the perpetual pack of cars at the rear of the field, affectionately known in the trade as backmarkers. In my humble opinion, no backmarker should ever determine the outcome of a race, but that’s exactly what Kahne did to Martin at Bristol, albeit unintentionally. Poor Kahne. He had absolutely nowhere to go. At Bristol, the high line on the turns, though frequented by the occasional Earnhardt Jrs. of the sport, is the only out-of-the-way lane at Bristol. That line, however, feeds out onto the primary racing line on both straightaways, a formula for inevitable mayhem, not unlike Darlington. That mayhem occurred with 62 laps remaining, when a multiple-car wreck took place as a result of the pack trying to go three wide, trying for four, down the back straightaway.
Basically, the cars are all held hostage at Bristol: Too many cars crammed into too small a space. Any movement at all is rarely made without peril, stupidity, or blind luck. Seldom is racing skill employed; just survival techniques.
Sadly, a frustrated Martin, halted on track with the rest of the field by a red flag near the race’s end that would only allow for four green-flag laps to close it out, could be heard plaintively from the cockpit of the 5 car: “Why do they have to wreck?!,” Martin said wearily over his in-car radio. “I just wish we could’ve raced for it.”
On that note I would ask NASCAR: Why not cut the field for races at Bristol and Martinsville? Forty-three cars can’t maneuver on a short track, much less really race. (I don’t want to hear this who-shot-John stuff about sponsor money.) It’s rush-hour traffic on a half-mile oval with no place to go. That’s not racing. Six cautions, including the red flag, in the final 42 miles? I’m with Martin. Why can’t they just race? Thin the field for the short tracks.
Read Alan Ross’ article “Leaping Lords,” on receivers Larry Fitzgerald and R. C. Owens in the current issue of Lindy’s Pro Football 2009 Preview at newsstands everywhere. E-mail: alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
ROADSIDE RAVE
Vickers’s win was his second career Cup victory but the first ever for Red Bull Racing in Sprint Cup. The mega-sport conglomerate isn’t just a presence in Cup, Red Bull is the current hottest team in Formula One as well, having taken the fight to early-season front-runner Brawn GP/Mercedes, whose Jenson Button, the current standings leader, is feeling intense heat from the two RBR drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber…If you haven’t seen Vickers’ video of his dash through Times Square in New York City, complete with pit stop, pull up www.redbull.com and check it out. The odd occurrence was in celebration of Vickers’ recent long-term signing with RBR…Racing enthusiasts worldwide are bummed by the news of F1 legend Michael Schumacher’s decision to pull out of this Sunday’s European Grand Prix. The previously retired Schumacher, called on to replace injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, aggravated his own past injuries while preparing for the GP. Longtime Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer will fill Massa’s spot.
Read Alan Ross’ article “Leaping Lords,” on receivers Larry Fitzgerald and R. C. Owens in the current issue of Lindy’s Pro Football 2009 Preview at newsstands everywhere. alanross_sports@yahoo.com
© Sportland 2009
Read Alan Ross’ article “Leaping Lords,” on receivers Larry Fitzgerald and R. C. Owens in the current issue of Lindy’s Pro Football 2009 Preview at newsstands everywhere. alanross_sports@yahoo.com
© Sportland 2009
Out of Gas—Again?
He’s universally viewed as the top crew chief on pit lane, calling the shots from atop the pit box for Jimmie Johnson in the Lowe’s 48 car. But for both 2009 races at Michigan International Speedway, Chad Knaus has looked like anything but a race strategy genius.
For the second time this year at MIS, with the checkered flag in sight, Johnson ran out of fuel either on the last lap or the penultimate lap. Johnson dominated the Carfax 400 Sunday—the car to beat all day—until those deadly closing laps. Back in the June race, JJ had taken the white flag in second place behind race leader Greg Biffle. But Biffle coughed, out of gas on the bell lap, followed shortly by Johnson, allowing third-place Mark Martin to steal a win. Sunday, Johnson experienced the ill-planned fallout of Knaus’s strategy, the call made with 42 laps left. “Stay out!” came the command from the pits, and Johnson eschewed pit road for track position as race leader. He had last pitted with 51 laps to go, the fuel maximum, a choice also made by Brian Vickers, second to Johnson at the time, and Jeff Gordon, running third. All three figured to fly home on fumes, if they could conserve enough gas and make it to the finish. Of the three, Johnson was the only one who didn’t, gassing out with two laps remaining. Vickers and Gordon finished 1 and 2.
Dale Earnhardt’s third-place finish, though welcomed by all, had to be disappointing for the entire 88 team. Little E looked to have a shot at winning it, having pitted 10 laps later than the race-leading trio, all of whom elected to stay out to keep track position. With his foot to the floor, Earnhardt could run wide open. He began to carve his way through the field over the final 40 laps, clicking off laps a second faster than Johnson and the other fuel conservers up front. It looked like he would either run them all down or reel them all in, due to the leaders’ cautionary driving. But with the final laps clicking off, Earnhardt couldn’t significantly close the gap.
Read Alan Ross’ article “Leaping Lords,” on receivers Larry Fitzgerald and R. C. Owens in the current issue of Lindy’s Pro Football 2009 Preview at newsstands everywhere. alanross_sports@yahoo.com
© Sportland 2009
For the second time this year at MIS, with the checkered flag in sight, Johnson ran out of fuel either on the last lap or the penultimate lap. Johnson dominated the Carfax 400 Sunday—the car to beat all day—until those deadly closing laps. Back in the June race, JJ had taken the white flag in second place behind race leader Greg Biffle. But Biffle coughed, out of gas on the bell lap, followed shortly by Johnson, allowing third-place Mark Martin to steal a win. Sunday, Johnson experienced the ill-planned fallout of Knaus’s strategy, the call made with 42 laps left. “Stay out!” came the command from the pits, and Johnson eschewed pit road for track position as race leader. He had last pitted with 51 laps to go, the fuel maximum, a choice also made by Brian Vickers, second to Johnson at the time, and Jeff Gordon, running third. All three figured to fly home on fumes, if they could conserve enough gas and make it to the finish. Of the three, Johnson was the only one who didn’t, gassing out with two laps remaining. Vickers and Gordon finished 1 and 2.
Dale Earnhardt’s third-place finish, though welcomed by all, had to be disappointing for the entire 88 team. Little E looked to have a shot at winning it, having pitted 10 laps later than the race-leading trio, all of whom elected to stay out to keep track position. With his foot to the floor, Earnhardt could run wide open. He began to carve his way through the field over the final 40 laps, clicking off laps a second faster than Johnson and the other fuel conservers up front. It looked like he would either run them all down or reel them all in, due to the leaders’ cautionary driving. But with the final laps clicking off, Earnhardt couldn’t significantly close the gap.
Read Alan Ross’ article “Leaping Lords,” on receivers Larry Fitzgerald and R. C. Owens in the current issue of Lindy’s Pro Football 2009 Preview at newsstands everywhere. alanross_sports@yahoo.com
© Sportland 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Cup drivers would give it a go in the rain
For the second straight week a NASCAR Sprint Cup race succumbed to rain, forcing a 24-hour postponement. Of interest during Sunday’s coverage of the rained-out Heluva Good! at the Glen, run at the famed Watkins Glen road course in upper New York State, was a turn by reporters finally beginning to ask the obvious—something we’ve been harping on here for the past two years: When are they gonna race in the rain?
Intriguingly, several NASCAR drivers interviewed spoke of giving it a try. Patrick Carpentier, a road-course specialist and former IndyCar driver who raced at Montreal in last year’s mold-breaking Nationwide Series race in the rain, said “it was a lot of fun,” referring to the Canadian race. But Carpentier felt the heavier weight of the Cup cars would make rain racing impossible. “They’ve got way too much power,” he said, ultimately concluding that “it would be fun for the fans but not for us.”
In an insightful comparison between IndyCars and Sprint Cup cars, Sam Hornish Jr., who has raced in both series, noted the relative weight and downforce differences between the two. The Car of Today weighs 3,500 pounds and creates about 1,000 pounds of downforce from an 800-horsepower engine. The lighter IndyCars, at 1,500 pounds, generate 600 horsepower, creating about 4,000 pounds of downforce.
Drivers David Stremme and Kevin Harvick also weighed in on the idea of racing in the rain. Harvick pointed out vision as the main problem from the driver’s standpoint. “The windows fog up,” he said, eliciting a slight guffaw from race analyst Rusty Wallace, a former Cup champion. “Yeah, but that’s fixable!” Wallace rightly pointed out. Harvick then tried to duck under the protection of “rooster tails,” the rainbow-like aftermath of spray from cars ahead that virtually blind a driver, and which no doubt would be something totally foreign to NASCAR drivers in the heat of competition. But look at F1, whose drivers constantly face vision and rooster-tail dilemmas whenever there is rain at a grand prix race. As Wallace likely would have said: it’s doable, boys.
Stremme remarked that stopping the big cars “might be a problem,” before musing “but it’d be fun to try,” to which Harvick also agreed.
Trust me, there will be more on this topic as NASCAR continues to watch its Sunday afternoon audience vanish due to rainouts. Solutions? We’ve got plenty. But that’s for another time…and another rainout.
INDYCARS sped through the twisting turns of Mid-Ohio, the classic road course in Lexington, with standings leader Scott Dixon taking the lead on Lap 37 of the 85-lap Indy 200 from Justin Wilson, as both came up on backmarker Milka Duno. Duno effectively “picked” Wilson, with Dixon wedging between the two before disposing of Duno two turns later. Dixon was never headed after that, winning comfortably for his fourth victory of the season, and more importantly, his 20th overall series win, taking over the top spot all-time in IndyCar series victories. He had previously been tied with Sam Hornish Jr.
Read Alan Ross’ article “Leaping Lords,” on receivers Larry Fitzgerald and R. C. Owens in the current issue of Lindy’s Pro Football 2009 Preview at newsstands everywhere. E-mail: alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
Intriguingly, several NASCAR drivers interviewed spoke of giving it a try. Patrick Carpentier, a road-course specialist and former IndyCar driver who raced at Montreal in last year’s mold-breaking Nationwide Series race in the rain, said “it was a lot of fun,” referring to the Canadian race. But Carpentier felt the heavier weight of the Cup cars would make rain racing impossible. “They’ve got way too much power,” he said, ultimately concluding that “it would be fun for the fans but not for us.”
In an insightful comparison between IndyCars and Sprint Cup cars, Sam Hornish Jr., who has raced in both series, noted the relative weight and downforce differences between the two. The Car of Today weighs 3,500 pounds and creates about 1,000 pounds of downforce from an 800-horsepower engine. The lighter IndyCars, at 1,500 pounds, generate 600 horsepower, creating about 4,000 pounds of downforce.
Drivers David Stremme and Kevin Harvick also weighed in on the idea of racing in the rain. Harvick pointed out vision as the main problem from the driver’s standpoint. “The windows fog up,” he said, eliciting a slight guffaw from race analyst Rusty Wallace, a former Cup champion. “Yeah, but that’s fixable!” Wallace rightly pointed out. Harvick then tried to duck under the protection of “rooster tails,” the rainbow-like aftermath of spray from cars ahead that virtually blind a driver, and which no doubt would be something totally foreign to NASCAR drivers in the heat of competition. But look at F1, whose drivers constantly face vision and rooster-tail dilemmas whenever there is rain at a grand prix race. As Wallace likely would have said: it’s doable, boys.
Stremme remarked that stopping the big cars “might be a problem,” before musing “but it’d be fun to try,” to which Harvick also agreed.
Trust me, there will be more on this topic as NASCAR continues to watch its Sunday afternoon audience vanish due to rainouts. Solutions? We’ve got plenty. But that’s for another time…and another rainout.
INDYCARS sped through the twisting turns of Mid-Ohio, the classic road course in Lexington, with standings leader Scott Dixon taking the lead on Lap 37 of the 85-lap Indy 200 from Justin Wilson, as both came up on backmarker Milka Duno. Duno effectively “picked” Wilson, with Dixon wedging between the two before disposing of Duno two turns later. Dixon was never headed after that, winning comfortably for his fourth victory of the season, and more importantly, his 20th overall series win, taking over the top spot all-time in IndyCar series victories. He had previously been tied with Sam Hornish Jr.
Read Alan Ross’ article “Leaping Lords,” on receivers Larry Fitzgerald and R. C. Owens in the current issue of Lindy’s Pro Football 2009 Preview at newsstands everywhere. E-mail: alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2009
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