19
Sep
2011
Dunta Robinson just doesn’t get the whole illegal helmet-to-helmet thing (VIDEO)
Leading with the helmet is Robinson's forte (Photo: Getty Images via WashingtonPost.com)
UPDATE: Robinson has been fined $40,000 by the NFL for this hit.
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Last season, Falcons CB Dunta Robinson made headlines with his brutal helmet-to-helmet collision with Eagles WR DeSean Jackson, becoming the poster child for the NFL’s crackdown on violent tackling. And despite being fined for that play and the league issuing a new manifesto on discipline and illegal hits, apparently, Robinson still doesn’t understand, because he went and did it again during last night’s Eagles-Falcons game, this time to WR Jeremy Maclin.
Regardless of his intent, Robinson clearly led with the crown of his helmet, and the league will certainly be reviewing the play to see if any fines and/or suspensions are warranted, especially considering that he’s a repeat offender. The hit also drew the ire of the Eagles players:
“He’s two for two now,” Maclin said. “Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as Jack’s was last year. I guess we’ll see what Roger Goodell has in store for him.”
Jackson didn’t think too much of Robinson’s hit on Maclin.
“I guess that’s what type of player he is,” Jackson said. “He tries to go for the kill shot and things like that. He got a flag for it, so just glad Jeremy is OK.”
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
29
Aug
2011
Eagles make Vick a very rich man
The Eagles are hoping Michael Vick's comeback is long-term. (AP)
The Eagles and Michael Vick are officially an item.
Vick has agreed to terms on a six-year, $100 million contract that replaces his one-year franchise tender, NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi reported, citing a league source.
Lombardi reported that nearly $40 million of the deal is guaranteed.
It’s undetermined how the money breaks down over the life of the contract or how it impacts the Eagles’ cap space. The team was about $2.1 million under the cap at the start of the day.
It’s not the last big-name signing the Eagles must tend to, with star receiver DeSean Jackson next in line for his payday.
25
Aug
2011
White Michael Vick will creep you right out
(Image via ESPN.com)
In their neverending quest to provide the most hard-hitting sports journalism possible, the team over at ESPN The Magazine are tackling the controversial subject of race in sports & society with their latest article (to appear in the Sept 5 issue of the magazine), entitled “What If Michael Vick Were White?”, by noted african-american cultural journalist Toure. It’s a thoughtful piece that’s guaranteed to stir up chatter across the interwebs, if only for the unbelievably creepy photo illustration they used for the header.
In the online preview, we get to see what the ESPN art department imagines Vick would actually look like as a white man (banner pic above). It’s a strange editorial choice, especially considering that the point of the whole article seems to be that his race is an integral part of any conversation about Vick and the culture of dogfighting that surrounded him.
In fact, Toure (the author) was among those who questioned the magazine’s use of the image, tweeting:
”I had no idea they’d put a pic of Vick in whiteface. Makes no sense w an essay saying it’s impossible to re-imagine him as white?”
Toure also tweeted that he had asked ESPN not to use the title the chose for the article, but to no avail:
So it seems that perhaps an over-enthusiastic member of the graphics department up in Bristol, with a penchant for creating vaguely Korean-looking Madden players, turned this story into something it was never intended to be. At one point today, the image was pulled from the website in response to the initial backlash, but it’s since been returned to its pageview-generating glory.
9
Jan
2011
Packers upset Eagles in Philly; Vick throws end zone INT with chance to win (VIDEO)
The Eagles season came crashing down today (Photo: Philly.com)
Cheeseheads and dog lovers everywhere rejoiced tonight as the Packers knocked Michael Vick and the Eagles out of the playoffs with a 21-16 win today in Philadelphia. Green Bay jumped out to a 14-3 halftime lead and their aggressive defense was able to contain the explosive Philly offense and hold off a late comeback attempt. Andy Reid’s club was unable summon the same 4th quarter magic they used to defeat the Giants in week 15, as Vick was picked off in the endzone by CB Tramon Williams with :33 seconds to go.
Aaron Rodgers threw 3 touchdowns and rookie RB James Starks set a franchise rookie record with 123 yards rushing for the Packers. Meanwhile, the usually reliable K David Akers missed TWO field goals (41, 34) that would have given the Eagles enough points for the win.
The controversial comeback player of the year was game until the very end, finishing with 292 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT passing, plus 33 yards and another score on the ground. The Eagles had cut the lead to 5 points and got the ball back with 1:45 to at their own 34 yard line, but Vick had seemingly injured his ankle on the previous two-point conversion attempt. He taped it up, eluded team trainers and re-entered the game for the game-winning drive attempt … which ended like this:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
29
Dec
2010
VIDEO: Workers leave snow in Governor’s seat at Eagles game for “non-wussies”
(Image via MSNBC.com)
When the NFL postponed Sunday’s Eagles-Vikings game due to the impending snowmageddon that was coming to the area, they received criticism from a lot of places. And rightly so … the league set a dangerous precedent in overreacting to the hysterics perpetuated by local weathermen (who make a living creating hysteria), and made the decision to push Sunday night’s game to Tuesday before the snow had even begun to fall in Philadelphia. In the end, the storm only brought around eight inches of snow to the area (not the 20″ that was being predicted) … hardly enough to warrant a shutdown of an entire city and a NFL contest.
But of all the critics, none spoke louder than from Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who went on a local radio station and slammed the league for their decision, saying ”We’ve become a nation of wusses.” So when Rendell, who is a long-time Eagles season ticket holder arrived to his front row seat on Tuesday night, he found a surprise from some of the 615 locals who came out to help clear the more than 2.6 million tons of snow from the stadium:
But despite the snowy greeting, moments before the game, Rendell was still sticking to his guns:
23
Dec
2010
Why their brutal loss to the Eagles could help the Giants for the playoff run
Another entry for the Manning face Hall of Fame (Photo: The Star-Ledger)
(Editor’s Note: This article was prompted by a bet between myself and TheDarkHorse, wherein the loser would have to write an article extolling the virtues of the winner of this game. I’m a lifelong Giants fan, and based on the terms of the bet, this column is supposed to “describe the overconfidence of NY fans, and the reality that Big Blue will not be alive a month from now.” However, based on the excruciatingly soul-crushing way the Giants lost this game, I’m calling an audible and writing what I really think. Sorry TDH …)
Since the Giants’ historic meltdown against the Eagles last Sunday, a gloom & doom mentality has overtaken the New York fan base. And rightly so … as far as regular season losses go, that one was about as bad as they come. It’s the type of loss that could cripple a team emotionally, and take their heart completely out for the rest of the season. But as bad as it was, as I was wallowing in the post-game crapulence, I couldn’t help but notice that it just didn’t hurt as badly as the aftermath of some of the Giants other more memorable collapses. And the reason for that is simple: at 9-5, they’re still in excellent position to make the playoffs. So the players & coaches don’t have time to sit around and reflect on everything that went wrong in those final 7-1/2 minutes of that one game. They have to quickly shake it off and focus on their next opponent, the Green Bay Packers.
For Tom Coughlin’s club it’s this simple: win Sunday at Green Bay and they’re in. But the Packers also need this win to stay in the playoff hunt, so you know they’re going to come out fighting on their home turf. And quarterback Aaron Rodgers – who missed last week’s game with a concussion – was cleared by team doctors to play on Sunday, so the GB offense should be in full force. So while it would be easy for the Giants to dwell on the “Miracle in the New Meadowlands” and get demoralized about life in general, they’re going to have to find a way to harness the emotion from that loss and channel it onto the playing field.
And according to some players, the Giants seem to be doing just that, and have been noticeably energized this week in practice:
“I think, as hard as it is to believe, guys actually managed to move on,” Cofield said. “We realize, if we win, we’re in. You can clinch second-to-last game of the season, that’s big.
A big game, a big opponent and a lot riding it, so I think it makes it easier to move on.”
For New York players and fans, using a tough loss to spark a playoff run is nothing new. Eli Manning, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora (among others) were part of the 2007 Super Bowl club that finished 10-6 and stumbled into the playoffs with a week 15 home loss to the Redskins, and the now-infamous week 17 loss to the Patriots. But through those games the Giants gained the confidence that they could play with the best in the league, and used that final loss as a rallying point for their championship run. And there’s no question after watching this Giants team dominate the Eagles for 3-1/2 quarters, that they have the talent on both sides of the ball to play with anyone in the NFL. It’s just a question of putting it together for 60 full minutes, and catching a few breaks along the way.
21
Dec
2010
VIDEO: Eli Manning hosts the loneliest press conference ever
This is from the post-game of the Giants’ epic collapse against the Eagles on Sunday at the New Meadowlands … and apparently the entire NY press corps was over in the Eagles locker room slobbering over Michael Vick, because Eli Manning showed up for his press conference to find this:
Thank goodness that one guy showed up, huh?
It looks like Eli was just going to launch into his best Nuke Laloosh canned press spiel anyway, so he was probably psyched he might not actually have to answer any questions. Besides, Eli threw for 289 yards and 4 TDs, so he shouldn’t take too much heat … that comeback is on the Giants defense.
19
Dec
2010
VIDEO: DeSean Jackson completes epic comeback win over Giants
This image says it all (Photo via Reddit/r/NFL)
If you missed today’s Giants-Eagles game, aside from missing the best match-up of the week, you missed an unbelievable comeback for the ages. For Giants fans, the loss ranks right up there with the Miracle in the Meadowlands and the 2002 playoff loss to the 49ers in terms of all-time monumental collapses. Yep, this one is going to sting for a while.
The Giants dominated for most of the day and held a 31-10 lead with less than 8 minutes remaining. But the home team collapsed entirely in the final minutes and allowed the Eagles to claw their way back into the game and stun New York on the last play. The rally was largely engineered by Michael Vick, who had been contained by the Giants defense for three quarters, but came up huge once again when it mattered most. And the same could be said for WR DeSean Jackson, who was held in check for much of the the afternoon, but scored twice in the 4th quarter – once receiving and once on this incredible game winning 65-yard punt return with :00 remaining:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
16
Dec
2010
VIDEO: Michael Vick spoofs The Office in “The Showroom”
Eagles QB Michael Vick is already the comeback story of the 2010 NFL season, and now it looks like he’s mounting his comeback on Madison Avenue. This is Vick’s first commercial since his release from prison almost two years ago … and it’s nice to see that Mike held out for the right, big-time endorsement deal that could help rebuild his image. Yep, it’s Woodbury Nissan in beautiful Woodbury, NJ (located in the Philly suburbs)!
The ad itself is a pretty decent spoof of “The Office”, with Vick as the newest member of the car dealership’s staff … so there’s a subtle tip of the cap to Terry Tate, “office linebacker“ in there as well. And although the dealership’s GM was initially hesitant about casting a former dog murderer in the spot, so far the response from customers has been overwhelmingly positive.
Watch for yourself, and be on the lookout for a DeSean Jackson cameo:
Too bad they couldn’t get Tashard Choice to come in and ask for an autograph, huh? Oh, and although decent, this video still isn’t nearly as good as the Office spoof the Kansas City Chiefs did last year.
For what it’s worth, USA Today reports that Vick wasn’t paid for the gig, but “he does get the free use of a customized Nissan Armada worth $54,000″.
13
Dec
2010
Tashard Choice apologizes for Vick autograph, has poor timing
(NBC Image via Mediabistro.com)
As we all know by now, Cowboys RB Tashard Choice turned into a giddy little kid around Michael Vick last night … unfortunately for Choice, he couldn’t have picked a worse time or place for it to happen.
Following Dallas’ 30-27 loss to the Eagles on Sunday night, fans everywhere watched in disbelief as Choice pulled out a glove for Vick to autograph … in the middle of the field … moments after the game had ended … on national TV … with cameras surrounding them:
We realize that pretty much everyone is drinking the Michael Vick kool-aid right now, but this is getting a bit ridiculous! Afterward, Choice took to Twitter to defend himself, explaining that the autograph was actually for his nephew:
Listen y’all I know vick. That glove was for my nephew who is 3. Not for me.@HERO681 I don’t care abbout that we all exchange autographs. That’s so stupid for people to get mad at.
Well then I guess Tashard would consider a lot of people to be stupid, because people everywhere are upset with the guy after what he did last night. Not necessarily because he asked for Vick’s autograph, but that he did it right after a tough loss to a division rival. Regardless of who it’s for, that’s simply neither the time nor place for that sort of thing. And besides, if Choice really knows Vick as he claims, one would think he could have arranged for the autograph at some other time, right?
Today, Choice responded to the backlash, again, via his Twitter account:
If its anybody that cares about winning and the d cowboys its me. I apologize to the people it was just an innocent jesture [sic] for my nephew.
