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:
27
Nov
2011
Stevie Johnson invents the “Plaxico” touchdown celebration (VIDEO)
(Image via everyjoe.com)
Points for creativity, but not exactly the classiest move we’ll see this year.
After scoring a touchdown during the second quarter of today’s Bills-Jets game, Buffalo WR Stevie Johnson mocked Jets WR Plaxico Burress by pretending to shoot himself in the leg. As we all know, Burress spent 20 months in prison after shooting himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub in 2008.
But Johnson wasn’t finished there, continuing through the endzone while mimicking Santonio Holmes’ “flight” celebration and crashing to the ground in the endzone, ultimately drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
24
Nov
2011
How the 49ers Got Their Groove Back (INFOGRAPHIC & VIDEO)
On this Thanksgiving Day, the San Francisco 49ers and their fans have a lot to be thankful for after starting the season 9-1 under rookie Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.
In case you were wondering exactly how Harbaugh has managed such a fast turnaround, we bring you this handy-dandy infographic drom reddit/r/nfl. In it, you’ll see how the Niners’ defense – led by all-everything LB Patrick Willis - has really been the biggest factor, leading the league with 26 takeaways and zero rushing touchdowns surrendered. And as we know, football is a game of field position, and San Francisco’s special teams have also contributed hugely to their success in that department.
(Image via reddit/r/nfl)
One could also argue that the 49ers schedule has played a big role in their success, and many are predicting an early playoff exit for Jim Harbaugh’s club. But they’ll have a chance to prove their critics wrong tonight when San Francisco plays the Baltimore Ravens and John Harbaugh in this brother-versus-brother head coaching matchup.
In the mean time, Harbaugh has his club feeling confident and as relaxed as can be in San Francisco, as evidenced by this clip of OT Joe Staley and TE Vernon Davis singing Adele’s “Someone Like You” from Staley’s “The Joe Show”. These gridiron crooners definitely struggle with the lyrics, and they’re both terrible singers, but they earn points for enthusiasm … especially Davis while butchering the chorus.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
16
Nov
2011
Marissa Miller is the NFL’s Official Superfan … HOORAY!!! (VIDEO)
(Photo via GQ-magazine.co.uk)
The NFL made one of its savviest marketing moves ever recently when it announced that Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Marissa Miller was hired as the newest spokesperson for the league.
Upon being named as the NFL’s “Official Superfan”, the fan response was one of joy but general confusion as to how and what, exactly, Miss Miller would be promoting. But given Miller’s status as one of the world’s hottest women, we naturally assumed that whatever she’d be doing, it would involve minimal attire and maximum skin, and that was good enough for us!
Well, the NFL has now released its first video featuring Miller – a devoted 49ers fan – behind-the-scenes at a photo shoot for this year’s London game between the Niners and the Broncos. And let’s just say we’ve never wanted to be a Frank Gore jersey more in our lives.
So sit back and enjoy over three minutes of pure NFL fandamonium … or what Marissa appropriately calls, “the new fantasy football”:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
15
Nov
2011
Watch Marshawn Lynch fake Ray Lewis out of his jock (GIF)
Yup. It happens to even the best of ‘em.
Watch Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch send both Ray Lewis and Jarret Johnson flying with this incredible juke move from Sunday’s 22-17 win over the Ravens:
(Image via kissingsuzykolber.com)
Yikes. That’s just nasty.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
7
Nov
2011
Angry fan delivers epic rant to Browns’ “Factory of Sadness” (VIDEO)
Following the Browns’ ugly loss at the hands of the Texans yesterday, comedian and lifelong Cleveland fan Mike Polk, Jr. felt the need to unleash his frustrations on someone or something. And with the Browns playing oh so far way in the state of Texas, Polk found the next best thing to vent on … their stadium, which he has appropriately dubbed a “Factory of Sadness”.
As Mike says in the video description, “Some times it’s nice to just yell at a building”:
Yep. This pretty much sums up the feelings of Browns fans everywhere.
PS – in case you were wondering, Mike is wearing a Ryan Pontbriand jersey … the Browns’ long snapper, who might just be their most consistent player. Perfect.
1
Nov
2011
Andy Dalton and A.J. Green are Even More Impressive Mic’d Up (VIDEO)
(Photo: Yahoo.com)
One of the biggest surprises of the 2012 NFL season thus far has been the emergence of the Cincinnati Bengals, who are off to a 5-2 start and riding a four game win streak, due largely to the play of rookie sensations AJ. Green and Andy Dalton. Together, the wide receiver taken with the #4 overall pick and the second-round quarterback (respectively) are off to the best start of any rookie WR-QB duo in recent memory, giving Bengals fans hope for the future like they haven’t felt in ages.
The New York Times‘ NFL Blog, The Fifth Down, has an excellent piece today on the historical significance of the Dalton-to-Green connection. Not since Jim Plunkett and Randy Vataha connected for 51 passes for 872 yards and 9 touchdowns as Patriots in 1971 have a rookie pair taken the league by storm in this fashion. The closest thing since was the Redskins’ Joe Theismann to Gary Clark (who caught 72 passes for 926 yards and 5 TDs as a rookie in 1985), but it’s become a rarer phenomenon in recent years.
Already through seven games this season, Green has caught 33 passes for 516 yards and 5 TDs. And they have nine more games to notch 5 more scores and become the first rookie QB-WR tandem to connect for 10 TDs in NFL history. Wow.
Fortunately for us, NFL Films had both players mic’d up during their Week 6 win over the Indianapolis Colts, for the always-awesome SoundFX program. Watching and listening to these guys play, it’s clear that Green still has some mental issues on the field, which are to be expected of a rookie, and he more than makes up for with sheer physical talent. But Dalton comes off like an old pro, directing traffic and displaying the leadership of a seasoned vet in the huddle, on the sidelines and with the coaches. And together, the two are developing a chemistry that should be exciting to watch for a long, long time.
Hell, it already is pretty exciting to watch, and we’re just getting started.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
16
Oct
2011
Jim Harbaugh celebration sparks confrontation with Jim Schwartz (VIDEO)
Jim vs Jim (Photo via Imgur.com)
Today’s marquee matchup (that nobody saw coming) saw the 49ers edge out Detroit 29-24 and hand the Lions their first loss of the season, moving both teams to 5-1. Following the game, 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was understandably excited, but his enthusiasm rubbed Jim Schwartz the wrong way, leading to a confrontation between the two coaches and both teams as they headed toward the tunnel.
As the clock hit zero, Harbaugh jumped and celebrated across the field en route to the traditional post-game coaches handshake. The first-year Niners coach bounded toward Schwartz, grabbing his hand and delivering a hearty smack to the back of the Lions coach before continuing his celebration and running toward the locker room. Schwartz took exception to Harbaugh’s over-exuberance and chased him down, delivering a shoulder blow and saying something in Harbaugh’s ear before 49ers players and personell got between the two (Harbaugh can be seen simply saying “Get out of my face”). More players then rushed to their coaches’ defense, nearly igniting a much-larger brawl between both teams that never really escalated.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE SKIRMISH AFTER THE JUMP
26
Sep
2011
Watch the Trailer for “A Football Life: Reggie White and Jerome Brown” (VIDEO)
(Image via SBNation.com)
Episode 3 of NFL Films’ extraordinary new series, A Football Life, premieres Thursday on the NFL Network, and this week it chronicles the bond between two of the most ferocious defenders to ever play in the NFL, Reggie White and Jerome Brown. The two Eagles defensive linemen were about as diametrically opposed personalities as you could find – Steve Sabol calls them “football’s version of the Odd Couple” – but shared an unbreakable bond on the field during the five seasons they played together in Philadelphia.
A Football Life takes a close look at that period, leading up to Brown’s untimely death in a car accident in 1992, and examines the lasting impact both men had both on and off the field. And after seeing how awesome the first two episodes of this series were, you can be sure we’ll be setting the DVR to record them all.
WATCH THE TRAILER AFTER THE JUMP
13
Sep
2011
Hit Of The Week: Hines Ward gets blasted by Jarret Johnson (VIDEO)
That's Ward in the center, with his feet in the air (Image via CBS Sports)
With our weekly feature, Hit Of The Week, ReadAndReact will find the most brutal tackle, block or run from each weekend of NFL games, and present it for your viewing pleasure.
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We’re back with our inauguaral HOTW selection for the 2011 NFL season!
This one comes courtesy of Ravens LB Jarret Johnson, who took the opportunity on Sunday to destroy Steelers WR Hines Ward as he came across the middle at the line of scrimmage, potentially looking to receive a shovel pass of some sort. But Johnson sniffed out the play and sent Ward into next week, forcing Ben Roethlisberger to improvise and throw an INT to Ed Reed, thus continuing the Steelers craptacular opening day display:
(apologies for the less-than-stellar video quality, but this is the best we could find for now … we’ll update if better video surfaces)
UPDATE: Here’s another version of the video, with multiple rewinds of the hit, if you’re into that sort of thing.
On Monday, Johnson said he was just reacting to the play, and didn’t have time to premeditate the hit:
“When I hit him, I didn’t expect him to do a freakin’ flip,” said Johnson. “I was just kind of reacting to the play. You don’t even remember a lot of stuff, and I just remember recognizing the play and kind of sitting back. I don’t remember if I took one step or if I ran or what.”
