23
Oct
2011
Tebow has rough start, but rallies Broncos over Dolphins (VIDEO)
Praise me! (Image via mockession.com)
Well, it wasn’t pretty, but after all the fanfare leading up to his first start of the season, Tim Tebow led the Broncos to an 18-15 OT win over the Miami Dolphins. After turning in one of the uglier 3+ quarters of football you’ll ever see from an NFL QB (in which he was 4-14 passing for 40 yards), Tebow stepped up when it mattered most with his Broncos trailing 15-0 with just over five minutes remaining.
In the last few minutes, Tebow threw two late touchdowns and added a 2-point conversion rushing, and the Broncos converted on a successful onside kick to help complete the comeback and send the game to overtime.
On his first TD pass, Tebow was able to elude defenders and find WR Demaryius Thomas in the corner of the endzone:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
18
Oct
2011
Watch Fireman Ed’s Monday Night Football Intro (VIDEO)
(Photo: NYDailyNews.com)
We’ll be honest, we didn’t really watch last night’s Jets-Dolphins game, and by most accounts it was a major suckfest with the Jets proving to be less sucky, so we don’t feel too bad about that.
But when we heard that ESPN enlisted Jets superfan “Fireman Ed” Anzalone to do the Monday Night intro honors, we knew we had to see what they came up with. In their continuing effort to replace the erstwhile Hank Williams’ Jr., ESPN has switched gears from his rauckus theme song to focus on the host cities with more solemn spoken word tributes.
This week’s effort focused on the passion and loyalty of the Jets fans, with the 52-year old retired New York firefighter doing the honors:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
14
Mar
2011
TheDarkHorse’s 2011 Mock Draft – Picks 11-20
2015 just called to tell us that J.J. Watt is the steal of this draft. (Source: Madison.com)
For picks 1-5, go here.
For picks 6-10, go here.
11. Houston Texans — J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin: We get so many of these projections wrong. The “sure lock” winds up a flaming bust, and players we’re ignoring today — guys who won’t even be drafted — will light up the league. I believe we’ll look back on this 2011 NFL Draft five years from now and call J.J. Watt a top 5 pick. I loved his presence, intensity and motor at the combine. Wade Phillips‘ 3-4 defense is the perfect landing spot for Watt, and a good environment for this hard-working, self-made player. He worked himself onto Wisconsin’s roster, paying his own way at the start of his tenure — delivering Pizza Hut to save up dough. He’s no prima donna. He’s a coachable workhorse who did the requisite work at Wisconsin to make the switch from tight end to defensive lineman. Watt is the steal of this draft at No. 11. Sometime these midround picks are where you find the real gems — where less pressure is placed on the incoming player, as well. Houston and Watt are an excellent match.
12. Minnesota Vikings — Julio Jones, WR, Alabama: The Vikings have been vocal about finding a quarterback in this draft. I see a potential trade up — or down — to get their guy. There was a time when it appeared Minnesota at No. 12 could snag Auburn’s Cam Newton, but the hype machine’s in full swing and I project him to go no less than No. 1 to the Carolina Panthers. He’s the type of passer that’s going to require time to develop, coming from a spread, and Leslie Frazier would love the challenge. There are other possibilities at quarterback for the Vikings — and all of them are better than Brett Favre right now, who’s back on his farm tilling soil. It’s time for a new start in Minnesota. In this mock, with no trades — and Jake Locker a reach — I project the Vikings to jump on Jones, who had an excellent combine and would be a good-value selection here. Sidney Rice could bolt via free agency, so Jones addresses a potential need as well. We all saw what happened to Percy Harvin when Rice was out of the offense — they need a No. 1 guy in there to give the passing game a shot.
Picks 13-20 after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
12
Dec
2010
VIDEO: Jets assistant coach trips Dolphins player
(CBS Image via Newsday.com)
The New York Jets are going to get a call from the league office regarding a sideline incident involving a member of their coaching staff … and surprisingly, it has nothing to do with Rex Ryan! Well, not directly anyway, but it certainly reflects negatively on the head coach and the culture he’s fostered surrounding this ball club.
During the third quarter of today’s 10-6 loss to the Dolphins, New York strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi intentionally tripped Dolphins CB Nolan Caroll while he was sprinting downfield on punt coverage. The Miami gunner was two yards deep on the Jets sideline when Alosi stuck out his left knee and took Carroll out. Watch below:
Carroll – who had an interception earlier in the game – was shaken up on the play, but returned to the game later. Afterward, Alosi issued an apology and said he’s prepared for any punishment that’s coming his way (cough *you’re fired* cough):
30
Nov
2010
NFL Week 13 Power Rankings (featuring the “Berserker Number”)
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Does anyone want to play the Bills right now? (Source: BuffaloNews.com)
Note: For the teams from 32-17, I’ve tagged them with my BERSERKER NUMBER (B#). Ranging from 1 to 100, it rates a team’s ability to cause havoc for teams attempting a playoff run. Young, developing squads just beginning to show power (but stuck with losing records) are helped, in my rankings, by a high B#.
For the teams from 16-1, I’ve added my DESTINY SCORE (DS). Again, 1 to 100. Here, I’m attempting to weed out teams resembling, for instance, the 1988 Chicago Bears. Teams with towering regular season records that (we all know) will not get to — back to — the Super Bowl. Teams, well, missing something special.
My (totally subjective, imperfect) Week 13 Power Rankings:
32 Carolina Panthers (1-10) (B#4)
31 Arizona Cardinals (3-8) (B#8)
30 Cincinnati Bengals (2-9) (B#14)
29 San Francisco 49ers (4-7) (B#22)
28 Denver Broncos (3-8) (B#33)
27 Detroit Lions (2-9) (B#28)
26 Buffalo Bills (2-9) (B#68)
25 Dallas Cowboys (3-8) (B#41)
24 Minnesota Vikings (4-7) (B#42)
23 Oakland Raiders (5-6) (B#52)
22 Washington Redskins (5-6) (B#43)
21 Seattle Seahawks (5-6) (B#54)
20 Cleveland Browns (4-7) (B#73)
28
Sep
2010
Hit Of The Week – Anthony Fasano devastating downfield block (VIDEO)
We’ve started a new tradition every Tuesday here at ReadAndReact by bringing you the Hit of the Week! We’ll find the most brutal tackle (or block) from each weekend of NFL games, and present it for your viewing pleasure.
This week’s HOTW comes from the offensive side of the ball … see how enlightened we are? In addition to it being a light week for bone-crushing defensive hits, we can certainly appreciate a textbook block, especially when it ends up with the defender flat on his back.
From Sunday night’s game, Dolphins TE Anthony Fasano gets the honor for making the extra effort on this downfield block for Brandon Marshall. Watch as Fasano squares up his hips and delivers the blow to Jets DB Eric Smith at full speed, sending him flying:
Granted, the Dolphins lost the game, but this is just a beautiful hit by Fasano.
28
Apr
2010
ESPN’s “Run Ricky Run” should be mandatory viewing
In case you haven’t been watching, ESPN’s 30 for 30 series is must-see sports programming. It’s a series of documentary shorts from different filmmakers on a variety of sports topics, resulting in some of the best sports films in recent memory (see the docs on the University of Miami football program and Allen Iverson’s trial as a youth, in particular). Set your DVR’s, folks.
The latest episode is entitled “Run Ricky Run”, with Sean Pamphilon and Royce Toni taking an in-depth look at the fascinating journey of former Heisman Trophy-winner and Dolphins RB Ricky Williams. It’s a story that demanded to be told, and this film provides unparalleled access to Williams and those close to him.
It doesn’t take long to realize that Williams is as far from the run-of-the-mill professional athlete as could possibly be. His much-publicized love of marijuana led to multiple suspensions, and when he went to Canada to play ball in 2006, it seemed to signal the end of his NFL career.
1
Feb
2010
Good Morning Miami from Rex Ryan!
Rex Ryan displaying the type of devil-may-care attitude we've come to expect
The awesome picture above comes from Miami, where the NFL’s elite have gathered for the pre-Super Bowl festivities. It’s also where our favorite rabble-rousing head coach, Rex Ryan, decided to take in a MMA Strikeforce event on Saturday night … where he was inevitably surrounded by Dolphins fans, eager to express their distaste their AFC Rival Jets. You can see where this is going.
Our friends at SportsByBrooks has the whole story, including video of the interview Rex gave over the jumbotron that might have ruffled some feathers in Miami. If you need even more coverage, The Miami Herald has the first-hand story from the photographer, along with Ryan’s clearly forced apology.
Does anyone else notice that Rex’s shirt says “Wide Guy” on it? Is this a brand for big & talls, or a cautionary sign for whenever he’s transported on the freeway?
9
Nov
2009
Reminder: Randy Moss is still incredible
Patriots WR Randy Moss seems to be flying under the radar so far this season. Despite the fact that he’s currently 5th in the NFL in receiving yards, Moss has been relatively quiet in 2009, with other receivers (Ochocinco, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald) getting most of the ink.
Yesterday Moss reminded us that he’s still one of the most dominant players in the league, with a 6-catch, 147-yd, 1-TD performance in the Patriots win over the Dolphins. And in case you missed it, early in the game, he made this freakish one-handed catch:
3
Nov
2009
VIDEO: Ted Ginn Jr. returns back-to-back kickoffs for TD
In case you missed it, here’s the video of Dolphins return man Ted Ginn Jr. single-handedly taking it to the NY Jets on Sunday, with consecutive kickoff returns of 100+ yards for scores.
He’s fast.
It marked the first time anyone had ever done that in the same NFL game, let alone in the same quarter. Crazy.
