23
Sep
2012
Greg Schiano blitzes victory formation again; is still a dick
(PHOTO: Mike Stone/Reuters via yahoo.com)
True to his word, following last week’s game-ending controversy against the Giants and with his Buccaneers losing 16-10 to the Cowboys today in the final minutes, Tampa Bay rookie head coach Greg Schiano once again blitzed his opponent’s victory formation as Dallas ran out the clock.
In fact, this time the Bucs went after the snap three consecutive times, with Schiano calling a time out to act like a tough guy and scream at his players before the final attempt.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Before the mics go silent, you can hear Schiano loudly shouting “I don’t give a f@ck what they think”. And since he knows the cameras (and all of his critics) are watching, Schiano then proceeds to coach harder than he had the entire game, tearing into his players as though it was the biggest play of their lives. He specifically went to extra care to make it seem as though he’s coaching technique to swipe at the snap before it reaches to the quarterback … as though this somehow would justify his “strategy”.
As expected, the Cowboys were fully prepared for Schiano’s tactics, and once again, it didn’t work. Despite the fact that the Cowboys’ center got blasted backward on each attempt (with the Bucs lining up offside on the last try), Tony Romo was able to cleanly field the snap … and Tampa Bay still lost.
Our final thoughts on all this: While Schiano is well within the rules for coaching his team to play this way (and will apparently get a lot of practice at it), no matter how you slice it, it’s still a bush league move. It’s the equivalent of getting your ass kicked in a street fight, and then when your opponent lets up and starts walking away, flailing wildly at his junk. There’s a small chance you’ll hurt the guy, but it’s definitely a cheap shot.
And regardless, you’re still a dick.
23
Sep
2012
Replacement referee takes out Kevin Ogletree with his hat (GIF)
If you’ve been listening to the debate over the replacement refs, and wondering exactly how they impact the game negatively or jeopardize player safety, I give you Exhibit A.
During the 2nd quarter of today’s Cowboys-Buccaneers game, Dallas WR Kevin Ogletree seemingly fell down in the end zone on a 3rd down pass attempt from Tony Romo … but upon closer inspection, you can see that Ogletree actually slipped on the replacement referee’s hat, which had inexplicably been thrown into the field of play:
(via mocksession.com)
With Ogletree taken out of the play, the pass fell incomplete and the Cowboys kicked a field goal on fourth down. And while referees often use their hats to mark when a receiver goes out of bounds, they generally keep them away from the field to avoid something exactly like this, which could easily have injured Ogletree. And … ya know … they usually only throw it when the receiver actually goes out of bounds. Which Ogletree clearly didn’t do.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
We’ll see if Jerry Jones is still defending the replacements after this one … especially if the Cowboys end up losing the game.
20
Sep
2012
Golden Tate fined $21k for blindside block on Sean Lee
On Sunday, Seahawks WR Golden Tate delivered a knockout blow to Cowboys LB Sean Lee on a blindside block that made all the highlight reels, and has now left Tate $21,000 poorer after being fined by the NFL.
The hit also gave us one of the more brutal photos of the football season so far:
(Photo: Max Faulkner via seattletimes.com)
The look on Lee’s face – with Tate’s helmet planted squarely in his jaw – is downright scary, and it’s fortunate that Lee wasn’t seriously injured on the play (although, the long-term effects on his brain probably won’t be known for a while).
WATCH THE PLAY HERE (GIFs below). In real time, it most certainly is a blindside block, but it’s looks as though Tate put his helmet in Lee’s chest and wasn’t aiming for his head (despite the result). Seattle head coach Pete Carroll has said that “I don’t think he could have done it any cleaner”.
10
Sep
2012
NFL GIFs of the week: 2012 Week One
We love our GIFs here at ReadAndReact, so we’ve started a new weekly feature where we collect the best GIFs from each NFL week, and post them all in one convenient spot for your viewing enjoyment.
Most of these come courtesy of the always-awesome GIFulmination, @SBNation GIF or@CJZero Twitter… so special thanks to those guys. Submit your favorites GIFs to info@readandreact.net, and PLEASE BE PATIENT WHILE THIS PAGE LOADS.
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The NFL is BACK … and ‘merica!!!
(via sbnation.com)
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On opening night, Rob Ryan also fired up that football is back:
(via cjzero.com)
27
Aug
2012
Jerry Jones raps in a Papa John’s commercial for some reason (VIDEO)
So this exists.
The ad wizards for the Papa John’s pizza franchise decided to enlist Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for their latest Dallas-area commercial. And not only that, but for some inexplicable reason, they decided to have Jones rap during the spot.
Let’s just say as a rapper, Jones is a very good businessman … watch for yourselves and drink it in:
Ummm … yeah.
Not surprisingly, Jones has an ownership stake in Papa John’s throughout Texas, and this isn’t his first ad for the franchise (check out this one where Jones gets punched in the junk by a little kid). But there’s just something unsettling about watching Jerrah – with all of his plasticized facial features – trying to imitate the moves of a hip-hop artist (:15), let alone trying to make his “rhymes” seem credible.
Thank goodness we don’t live in Texas where we’d be subjected to seeing this on a regular basis.
6
Mar
2012
Remember the 1989 “Bounty Bowl”? It seems things haven’t changed all that much in the NFL (VIDEO)
Mike Golic might have a unique perspective on all this bounty talk
Here’s a fun little trip down memory lane! Back in 1989, the Buddy Ryan-led Philadelphia Eagles played their rival Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, in a nationally televised game that would forever come to be known as the “Bounty Bowl“.
In it, Ryan was accused by Dallas head coach Jimmy Johnson of placing a $200 bounty on kicker Luis Zendejas, and a $500 bounty on quarterback Troy Aikman. On the Cowboys’ only kickoff of the game, which Philadelphia won 27-0, Eagles linebacker Jesse Small sprinted straight at Zendejas (who had previously played for Ryan and the Eagles) in an obvious attempt to take him out. Zendejas dove to avoid the hit, but took a knee to the head resulting in a concussion, and setting off a firestorm of controversy.
Despite Johnson’s attempts to challenge Ryan to a fight in an alley, it was all fun and games in the media as Johnson made fun of Ryan’s “big, fat rear end”, who in turn deflected the controversy by making light of his own weight. Ryan also claimed that Zendejas was the one trying to injure Smalls, and wondered aloud “Why would we want to knock out that kicker? He wasn’t making any kicks at the time. We wanted him out there.”
On Monday, Mike Golic – who played for the Eagles in both games - said on ESPN that “there were bounties in that game”. But at the time, commissioner Paul Tagliabue turned the other cheek and exonerated Ryan of any wrongdoing - a claim that Ryan still clings to this day - and pretty much everyone got a big kick out the idea of bounties in football. Two weeks later, the league even promoted the re-match for ratings as “Bounty Bowl II”, which was marketed by CBS with wanted signs and became memorable for the snow/ice balls lobbed onto the field (and at announcers) by the Philadelphia fans.
BOUNTY BOWL VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
4
Jan
2012
Giants-Cowboys New Year’s Day Photo Essay (20 PICS)
This past Sunday, on New Year’s Day 2012, we were fortunate enough to attend the much-hyped Giants-Cowboys game at MetLife Stadium.
This was for all the marbles in the NFC East, with the winner taking the division and the loser going home to face a long off-season, watching the playoffs from the outside looking in. A play-in game, if you will, between bitter division rivals. As regular season match-ups go, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. So we battled our hangovers and made the trip to East Rutherford, where we took a lot of pictures along the way to share with you, our loyal readers.
Despite our sterling reputation as an emerging force in new sports media, we didn’t have any press passes or fancy cameras for this one, so these photos are all from the fan’s perpective … and all of them were taken on an iPhone 4s. We hope you enjoy!
(CLICK ANY PHOTO TO EMBIGGEN):
The new MetLife stadium is quite impressive from the outside (Photo: ArtieFufkin)
(Photo: ArtieFufkin)
The rain couldn't dampen the spirits of Giants fans, who were fired up for this one (Photo: ArtieFufkin)
Romo and Co. are greeted warmly by the New York fans (Photo: ArtieFufkin)
Oooh ... fireworks! (Photo: ArtieFufkin)
CONTINUE AFTER THE JUMP FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE GIANTS/COWBOYS GAME
23
Dec
2011
Carl from ATHF on Sam Hurd, Rob Ryan and the Cowboys-Eagles (VIDEO)
Our old friend Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force is back with his thoughts on the upcoming Christmas Eve showdown between NFC East Rivals, the Cowboys versus the Eagles. And while he’s at it, Carl weighs in on Sam Hurd‘s arrest and Rob Ryan‘s similarity to one of the three wise men, who also might have once played bass for Slayer.
As always, unrivaled analysis here from Carl, but we don’t recommend laying any money down on his picks … ever:
13
Oct
2011
ESPN’s Trey Wingo and Marcellus Wiley ride the “Romo Coaster” (VIDEO)
(Image via ESPN.com)
Every once in a while, the Worldwide Leader will produce a package that takes a different approach to the usual sports analysis, and thus stands out from the pack. Usually, we can rely on our boy Kenny Mayne to bring the off-center humor to the party, but this time Trey Wingo steps up with his feature on the trials and tribulations of Tony Romo so far this season. In it, he and NFL Live co-host Marcellus Wiley go for a ride on the “Romo Coaster”, which promises to simulate the thrills and spills of a game with the much maligned Cowboys’ QB at the helm.
Watch as Wingo somehow manages to provide a perfectly cogent breakdown of Romo’s successes and failures while riding the coaster, while Wiley mainly tries to keep his lunch down:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
6
Oct
2011
Holy Crap! Nate Newton Looks Like This Now (PIC)
"The Kitchen" today (Image via ESPN.com)
We knew that former Dallas Cowboy All-Pro Lineman Nate Newton had lost a lot of weight recently. The story about Newton’s drastic weight loss broke in November of 2010, and we learned then about how Newton – who had tipped the scales at 325 pounds in his playing days, and added on another 75 after he quit the game - had dropped 175 pounds in just six months thanks to a “gastric sleeve” surgical procedure, saving his life and becoming nearly unrecognizable in the process.
Newton Before & After, Nov 2010 (Image via Huffpost.com)
But we still had to do a double (if not triple)-take when the man who used to be known as “The Kitchen” appeared on ESPN’s First Take this week as a guest analyst, looking absolutely nothing like his former self. As thin as he was around this time last year, it looks as though Newton has lost even more weight, and may have reached his ultimate goal of getting below 200 pounds.
Either way, it’s still a bit startling to realize that he’s the same person who won three Super Bowl rings with the Cowboys while pushing around the big boys in the trenches. But it’s definitely good to see that Newton is still keeping the weight off, and maintaining his healthy lifestyle. Good for him.
