1
Dec
2010
Boy, the NFC West really sucks, huh?
Are Sam Bradford and the Rams the best of the worst? (Photo: Getty Images via Zimbio)
Heading into the 2010 season, nobody had particularly high expectations for the NFC West. In fact, it was widely identified as the worst division in football. But I don’t think any of us expected that it would suck quite this badly … did we?
Look at it this way: At 3-8, the Arizona Cardinals – who have lost six games in a row – are only TWO GAMES out of first place in their division. The Rams and Seahawks are currently the best of the bunch at 5-6, but with five games left, it’s anyone’s division for the taking. And one of these teams is going to the playoffs … likely with a 7-9 final record, while a 10-6 (or even 11-5) potential NFC wild card team misses out.
So what happened? We kind of knew the Seahawks were going through a transition period with Pete Carroll taking over, and the two-time defending division champion Cardinals lost a lot of their best players in the off-season. But people had high hopes for the 49ers, who seem to have regressed in Mike Singletary‘s second year at the helm. Troy Smith may have brought some spark to the club, but with the loss of Frank Gore for the remainder of the season, I just don’t see this team scaring anyone down the stretch.
10
Nov
2010
ReadAndReact Mid-Season NFL Awards 2010
Even though a lot of folks were handing out midseason awards last week, this past weekend marked the official halfway point for the 2010 NFL season, with every team now having played 8 of their 16 regular season games. So we thought we’d fall in line with the rest of the sports blogosphere and give out some completely meaningless awards of our own!
So without further adieu, here they are, the 2nd annual ReadAndReact mid-season NFL Awards:
Peyton Hillis has captured the imagination of an entire city (Photo: Cleveland.com)
MVP: Peyton Hillis, CLE - Everyone in the world is picking the other Peyton for this award (YAWN), but nobody has made a bigger impact on a franchise (or a city) this year than Peyton Hillis. The 7th round draft pick out of Arkansas was traded to Cleveland for Brady Quinn and some magic beans, which might turn out to be the worst trade of Josh McDaniels career, and the best of Eric Mangini’s. Since being given the starting workload, Hillis has taken the Browns on his shoulders, leading them to 2 straight wins over the Saints and Patriots. And more importantly, he’s given the team an identity to build around, and given Browns fans something to believe in. Finally.
Offensive Player of the Year: Arian Foster, HOU – what can you say about Foster, who has busted onto the NFL scene this year and leads the league in both yards (884) and TDs (9)? So far, Foster has claimed this year’s title as the stud RB in the league … let’s see if he can keep it going for the rest of the season.
Defensive Player of the Year: Clay Matthews, GB - The 2nd year linebacker has emerged into a dominant force this year, collecting 9-1/2 sacks so far to lead the league. There isn’t another defensive player who’s had a bigger impact on his team, and Matthews should be a mainstay in GB for years to come.
Morris is already one of the best young coaches in the game (Photo: TampaBay.com)
Head Coach of the Year: Raheem Morris, TB - At age 34, Morris is the league’s youngest coach, and his Bucs team is showing that they’re willing to fight to the death for their leader. So far, Morris has turned the team around from 3-13 last year to a 5-3 start, and he’s done it without very much talent to work with (a 2nd year QB, a rookie RB and two rookie WRs). It’s probably too soon for them to put it all together for a run at the playoffs, but with Morris at the helm, the future looks bright in Tampa.
CONTINUE READING FOR THE REST OF OUR MID-SEASON AWARDS
24
Apr
2010
POST-DRAFT WRAP-UP … WAIT, THAT’S IT?
Oregon's LeGarrette Blount went undrafted ... but well rested. He later signed with the Titans as an undrafted FA (Image: Deadspin.com)
Is anyone else uncomfortable that the draft is over and it’s only Saturday? What the hell am I supposed to do with the rest of my weekend? Go outside or something??? Oh well … since Thursday night was the highest-rated draft ever, we’d better get used to this new format.
Now that Mr. Irrelevant has been picked, it’s time for armchair GMs everywhere to start second-guessing NFL executives and handing out their annual draft grades. Nevermind the fact that we’ll have no idea how this draft is going to pan out for at least 2-3 years … these type of knee-jerk assessments are what the draft is all about! At first glance, we really like what the Raiders, Seahawks and 49ers did over the last 3 days. In case you’re interested Pete Prisco at CBS has graded every single pick of the draft, and Shutdown Corner has their Best & Worst of the 2010 draft.
And just because the draft is over doesn’t mean teams are done adding players. Keep track of all this Undrafted Free Agent Signings list to see what camp fodder each team is bringing in. For your reference, here’s NFL.com’s list of the best players available after the draft.
In case you missed them through the sweat dripping off of Berman’s huge cranium, here are a few more stories of note from the weekend:
- The Raiders got QB Jason Campbell from the Washington Redskins [ESPN.com]
- The Seahawks traded for RB’s Leon Washington of the Jets and Lendale White of the Titans [NFL.com]
- The Jets released all-pro G Alan Fanceca [NY Daily News]
- The Jaguars traded for Raiders LB Kirk Morrison [PFW]
- Lawrence Taylor’s memory of the day he was drafted in 1981 is a little bit fuzzy … probably because he had 41 Coors Lights [SI.com]
