Archive | September 2009

Justin Verlander: Eye of the Tigers

Looking to avoid the culmination of a mini-collapse, the Tigers entered the second game of a day-night doubleheader with the Twins needing a win to avoid falling into a tie with Minnesota in the AL Central.

Detroit brought their ace to the hill, looking to stop Minnesota’s momentum after a huge 3-2 win in game one of the twinbill.

“I basically told him, ‘I don’t have anybody better than you,’” Tigers Manager Jim Leyland said. “That’s the line I usually use and with him, I mean it.”

And though he wasn’t spectacular, allowing four runs, he pitched eight innings and 129 pitches, an ace-like, gutsy performance that your team needs in the most desperate of situations.

Aces save their best for the biggest situations, and though the results looked mediocre in the box score, he got the win and poured everything he had into the game. Verlander stuck out eight and walked no one, and after a turbulent ninth inning by Fernando Rodney, the Tigers held on for a 6-5 game two win, prompting a collective exhale from Comerica Park and giving Detroit a two game lead in the quest for their first division title since 1987.

“There were innings where we didn’t have much of a chance,” Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire said. “And, he was still winging it at 98 after 120-some pitches. That guy’s a stud.”

 It was the 18th win of Verlander’s bounce-back season after a disastrous 11-17 record in 2008.

“After the first game, this win was huge,” Verlander said.

Verlander put everything he had into the biggest game of Detroit’s season, and that attribute he has bodes extremely well for the postseason. Verlander is 3-2 with a 4.36 ERA lifetime against the Yankees, the team he would be facing in game one of the ALDS. Expect the eye of the Tigers to put everything he has in every start going forward.

Week Three’s Katy Perry Report

Hot
Peyton Manning- In yet another prime time road game, Manning was magnificent, going 25/34 for 379 yards and four TD’s in Indianapolis’ 31-10 crushing of the Cardinals.
Brett Favre & the Minnesota Vikings- San Francisco seemingly had the game, and a 3-0 start, in the bag but a late Favre 80 yard drive ended in a long TD for new WR Greg Lewis to take a victory away from a very solid Niners team.
Pierre Thomas & the New Orleans offense- Just when you think you have the Saints beat by limiting Drew Brees and that passing game, here comes the guy with the French name on the team in the French city barreling into Buffalo and rushing for 126 yards and two TD’s in a 20 point win over the Bills. Is there any doubt that Sean Payton is the brightest offensive mind in the game?
Maurice Jones-Drew- On the road against a divisional opponent with 0-3 staring them in the face, Jacksonville’s star RB rumbled for 119 yards and three TD’s as the Jaguars won at Houston 31-24.
Fred Taylor & New England- Coming off a loss to the Jets, New England showed Atlanta who’s boss, holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes. Fred Taylor rushed 21 times for 105 yards in a big 26-10 domination of the Falcons.
Philadelphia Eagles- Who needs Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook when you have Kevin Kolb and DeSean Jackson? Kolb went 24/34 for 327 and two scores and Jackson had 149 yards receiving and a TD as Philly rolled Kansas City 34-14.
Joe Flacco- The Baltimore signal-caller went 25/35 for 342 yards and a score as the Ravens brought their record to 3-0 with a 34-3 blasting of the Browns.
Cold
JaMarcus Russell- 12/21 for 61 yards? Less than three yards an attempt? Given his height, if he took two steps and dove forward 21 times Sunday in their 23-3 loss to Denver, he would have gained more than 61 yards. Go to the CFL, JaMarcus, at least noone there will care that you’re an embarrassment to the league.
Ryan Mouton & the Titans- Tennessee’s rookie corner from Hawaii fumbled a kickoff and a punt, both leading to Jets TD’s in a 24-17 loss at the Meadowlands, sending the Titans to 0-3. Despite outgaining New York, the 3-0 Jets forced two Kerry Collins interceptions for the win. Mark Sanchez fumbled twice, but threw for two TD’s and ran for one more.
Carolina’s Offense- This isn’t just a Jake Delhomme problem, this is a scheme and coaching problem. If Delhomme has limitations, which he obviously does, then call plays that are your strength, which is running the ball. I could give a quarter of a S*it if Steve Smith isn’t happy, the Panthers aren’t going to win if Delhomme throws it 33 times and DeAngelo Williams runs it 11 times. I didn’t think I’d be saying this a year ago, but John Fox needs to be fired if he continues to let his offense be ran into the ground like this.
Brady Quinn- The Browns QB went 11/19 for just 92 yards and two picks and was yanked in the second half in favor of Derek Anderson in their 34-3 loss to Baltimore to fall to 0-3. Cleveland has 29 points in their first three games.
Tampa Bay’s Offense- The Bucs had a grand total of 86 yards on offense in their 24-0 loss to the Giants, and didn’t get a first down ‘till midway through the third quarter. Sammie Stroughter had 23 yards receiving, which led the team.
Washington Redskins- The Detroit Lions had not won a game since December of 2007 until the ‘Skins came to town and allowed the lowly Lions to hold the ball for 36 minutes and went down 13 minutes before their comeback attempt came short. Both teams are 1-2.
St. Louis Rams- The 0-3 Rams showed some fight in their 36-17 loss to Green Bay, but it was their 13th straight defeat going back to last season.

Dolphins Replace One Pen With Another

Teams that start 0-3 rarely make the playoffs, and even more so 0 -3 that lose their starting QB’s for the season. With Chad Pennington done in once again with a shoulder injury, some backup for starter-by-default Chad Henne was acquired in Chiefs understudy signal-caller Tyler Thigpen. Thigpen put up some decent starts in Kansas City last year and was dealt to Miami for an undisclosed draft pick. But without the threat of a starting caliber QB for the Dolphins, how much more will teams be keying in on the Wildcat now that their traditional formations will be respected far less? Can the Dolphins win more than 5 games this season? What’s your take?
P.S.- The Dolphins are winless since T-Pain and Pitbull remixed their fight song.

Week Three Picks

Jets (-2.5) over Titans

The Titans are going to need to dig deep if they want to avoid an 0-3 start.

Houston (-4) over Jaguars

Houston’s offense had a coming out party last week, which is bad news for Jacksonville.

Philadelphia (-8) over Kansas City

The Chiefs were so bad last week against the Raiders, they’re in a lot of trouble if they have a repeat performance.

Cleveland to cover (+13.5) at Baltimore:

The Browns are bad enough to get blown out, but look for Baltimore to look more at the run than the pass this week.

Giants (-6.5) over Tampa Bay

Missing Justin Tuck would  probably hurt the G-men on a normal game, but they will be able to make the Bucs look bad  without him.

Detroit (+6.5) over Washington

It’s hard to have a let down game after squeaking out a win, but Washington may just have one vs Detroit on Sunday.

Green Bay (-6.5) over St. Louis

The Rams almost squeaked one out last week, but look for Green Bay to exploit all their weaknesses.

San Francisco (+7) to cover vs Minnesota

While the Vikings have a beast of a running back in AP, the 9ers have a beast of their  own in Frank Gore. This should be a close game decided on who can stop the run first.

New England (-4.5) over Atlanta

Brady and Co are going to have to put up some numbers to make up for the shaky D

Chicago (-2.5) over Seattle

With the gutsy win over Pittsburgh last week, look for Chicago to have some swagger coming into this game

New Orleans (-6) over Buffalo

Drew Brees going against the 2nd worst pass defense in the NFL… and it was only a 6 point spread??

Miami (+6) over San Diego

The injuries are piling up for the Chargers. Look for the Wildcat to be run very well towards a Dolphin win this week

Pittsburgh (-3.5) over Cincinnati

Look for the Steelers to take out their frustrations of last weeks loss vs the Bengals this week

Oakland (+1.5) over Denver

Denver might be the worst 2-0 team. Look for a classic ugly AFC West battle.

Indianapolis (+2.5) over Arizona

The colts put up over 25 points last week on the ‘phins and they only had the ball for 15 minutes… This should be a high scoring affair

Carolina (+8) to cover vs Dallas

Jerry Jones will finally get his first home win in the new stadium, but it will be a nail bitter similar to last week

SprungOnSports’ Week Three Sunday Matchup Madness ATS

Detroit over Washington- Washington scored a grand total of nine points, and despite the win over St. Louis they may overlook a team like Detroit on the road. If you haven’t noticed, the Lions haven’t won a game in a little while but led for most of the game against Minnesota. Kevin Smith could have a solid game, and if they can protect Matt Stafford they may actually win. The Redskins offense looked putrid against a bad Rams team and is too conservative to really be taken somewhat seriously. Any time the Lions are picked to win is obviously a stretch, but this is the game I think they get that insanely large monkey off their back.
Green Bay (+6.5) over St. Louis- After such a great week one win over Chicago, the Packers really stumbled on defense against Cincinnati. Green Bay was really gashed on the ground by Cedric Benson in week two and need to contain Steven Jackson. If Green Bay can do that with any degree of success, they’ll win with ease. The offense for the Packers is fine, they put up 27 last week, so the key is the defense. The Rams did not allow a TD to Washington last week, but the Packers are just a little bit better than that and should cruise to the win.
Minnesota over San Francisco (49ers cover the 6.5 point spread)- The Vikings will get their first test of the season against a 49ers team coming off two huge division wins. San Francisco has played excellent defense thus far and look inspired under Mike Singletary. The game will surely come down to the running backs, and both Adrian Peterson and Frank Gore have had fantastic starts. Peterson says his back injury isn’t an issue, but it’s something to keep in the back of your head. If AP can’t go at full strength all day, this will force Brett Favre to sling the ball around for the first time. What I’m interested in seeing is what the 49ers will do coming from behind, something last year’s Redskins (a similar team to this in my opinion) could not do.
“Shaun Hill passed 13 times during a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to take the lead in the fourth quarter against the Cardinals.” Said ESPN’s NFC West blogger Mike Sando.
It’s going to be a defensive battle throughout at the Metrodome, and look for the Vikings to barely prevail at home. The 49ers are going to put up quite a fight. 
Atlanta over New England- The Jets were relentless in their pressure on Tom Brady last week, and it would be foolish to think that the Falcons won’t employ the same strategy.
“With the Jets it was more schemes, the overload blitzes coming from one side, the inside linebackers crossing up the middle.” Said former Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi.
Look for the Pats to run the ball a lot more with their cavalcade of running backs led by Laurence Maroney and Fred Taylor to keep the pressure off Brady and on a weak Falcons rush defense. But there will be some major matchup problems for New England against Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez, who they’ll have to double on almost every play. That could open things up for Roddy White in the passing game. Wes Welker needs to play for New England to take some pressure off of Randy Moss, but the Pats may have too many problems to overcome a hot Atlanta team.
NY Jets (+2.5) over Tennessee- The Titans will come into the game on Sunday with a definite sense of urgency, and will look to pound Chris Johnson on a Jets defense that hasn’t allowed a sack yet. New York will have to stuff the run in order to get to 3-0, and they’ve shown that they’re capable of that. And once the Titans get into some obvious passing situations, the onus will be on Kerry Collins to make some plays, something Jeff Fisher is probably uncomfortable with. If Mark Sanchez can get good protection he can have a big day, since Tennessee gave up 363 and 357 yards passing over the first two games. Look for the Jets to have success on offense and for the Titans to come up short in a must-win game.
Philadelphia (+9) over Kansas City- Kevin Kolb had to throw the ball around a lot in a blowout loss to New Orleans, and with Brian Westbrook likely in the lineup at the time this article is being written, it seems like the Eagles will be fine if they play a ball-control style of football that Andy Reid abhors. Matt Cassel’s club couldn’t muster more than 10 points against Oakland last week, and the Philly defense should be able to force some turnovers and limit Larry Johnson, and a passing game that could be without Dwayne Bowe. Look for the Eagles to be too much at home coming off a loss against a team that isn’t very good. Michael Vick is expected to play in 20-25 snaps and look for him to get some of them very close to the beginning of the game.
NY Giants (+6.5) over Tampa Bay- Tampa Bay has given up over 30 points in both of their games thus far, and it could very well be three based on how the Giants played against Dallas this week. If Eli Manning can continue to gain a rapport with Mario Manningham, it could become a lethal combination. Look for Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw to have much more success this week. The Bucs have major concerns on offense if Antonio Bryant and Carnell Williams are unable to go, though Bryant appears like he’ll play. New York gave up more than 250 yards on the ground, and a healthy combo of Williams and former Giant Derek Ward could keep the ball out of the Giants’ (and Bryron Leftwich’s) hands. Look for a controlled, ball control victory for the Giants plus the touchdown against an awful Tampa Bay outfit.
Baltimore (+13.5) over Cleveland- Baltimore’s defense has seemingly fallen off a tad so far this season, but the Cleveland offense has been atrocious in their first two games. With Jamal Lewis potentially out for a road game against his former team, Jerome Harrison will likely get the start against the Ravens defense. Despite the divisional matchup, look for the Ravens to come out with their patented running game against a team that had a lot of difficulty defending the run. B’more is putting the ball in Joe Flacco’s hands more, and look for an effective game from him as well. Houston (+4) over Jacksonville- Maurice Jones-Drew may be limited in Sunday’s game, which would be a devastating blow to a team that’s scored 29 points all season. The Texans put up more than that last week, and expect Matt Schaub to have a good game like Kurt Warner did against the Jaguars last week. Andre Johnson should have another good performance, and the Texans could be getting Kevin Walter in the lineup for the first time this season. Free agent signing Torry Holt is reportedly already upset with his role on the team, and without their safety valve MJD at full strength, it could spell trouble for a J-ville team that is in troubled waters right now. The Jags seem like a sinking ship.
Chicago (+2.5) over Seattle- With Matt Hasselbeck almost certainly out of Sunday’s game, it’ll be vital for the Seahawks to run the ball with Julius Jones and co. Seneca Wallace has proven in the past that he can lead this team to some success, but the Bears are playing with a lot of confidence after their win over Pittsburgh. Jay Cutler looks like he shook off whatever rust he had in the Green Bay game and had a gutty performance against the Steelers. Look for Johnny Knox to continue to play a big role in the team’s offense along with Matt Forte. If Cutler can handle a hostile environment, which is certainly not a given, the Bears should roll to their second win. New Orleans (+6) over Buffalo- The Bills had success against Tom Brady in their first game, but Drew Brees is in better shape right now with the hottest offense in the league. Buffalo has done a much better job at pressuring the QB this season than last, and they’ll have to do a lot of that to throw Brees off his rhythm. Mike Bell probably won’t play for New Orleans after his good start to the season, and Pierre Thomas could be limited, which would put the onus on Reggie Bush in terms of running the ball. Fred Jackson leads the Bills in receptions, and that will likely have to change for Buffalo to stand a chance in this game. They need to get Terrell Owens and Lee Evans involved in a big way. Buffalo doesn’t have neither the rushing attack to control the time of possession nor the QB to win in a shootout, which is what they would have to do. Saints by at least a TD.
Pittsburgh (+4) over Cincinnati- I make this pick with more trepidation than I had ever imagined I would have at this time last week. Cincinnati’s offense came to life all-of-a-sudden and Pittsburgh’s inability to run the ball continues to haunt them. The Steelers defense doesn’t look the same without Troy Polamalu, and Chad Johnson could have a big game in The Jungle. What will win this game for the Steelers is Ben Roethlisberger’s passing and his ability to flat out win games. It seems embarrassingly cliché, but this game will be close late and Big Ben will lead Pittsburgh to the win. Denver (+1.5) over Oakland- JaMarcus Russell’s completion percentage is 35.1. Denver has allowed a grand total of 13 points this season. The Black Hole couldn’t sell out a divisional rivalry game, yet the Broncos were only favored by 1.5 points? Am I missing something? Unless Darren McFadden can rush for 150 yards and Kyle Orton throws three interceptions, the Broncos are going to win this game with ease. With Nnamdi Asomugha locking down a disappointing Brandon Marshall, look for big days from Eddie Royal and Tony Scheffler, and a big day from Knowshon Moreno as well.
San Diego (+5.5) over Miami- The Dolphins held the ball for 45 minutes last week against Indianapolis yet still lost to the Colts. So Miami should be in good shape going into this week against the Chargers. Their ball control offense should keep the San Diego offense off the field.
“I hate to say it but they could be in even worse shape this week because Rivers and company are a better passing combination than Manning and company.” Said ESPN’s Football Scientist KC Joyner. “I see the Fins going 0-3.”
San Diego is first in the league in passing yards per game and the Dolphins are 23rd against the pass. If the Wildcat doesn’t do amazing like it did last week, this could be a blowout. At least expect the Bolts to win by at least the 5.5 point spread.
Indianapolis over Arizona- The Colts offense hasn’t looked as good so far this season, but their defense has clamped down when they really needed to in crucial moments. Both Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner were incredibly efficient last week, and it’ll probably come down to the running games and the defenses this Sunday night in Arizona. ”I like the Colts this week because to beat them you have to run the ball and Arizona is too pass happy.” Said ESPN insider Jeremy Green. “Even if they run it well they will get away from it because they really want to throw the ball. I like the Colts on the road.” Beanie Wells was carrying the ball all over the team facilities after fumbling last week, and the Indy defense should be able to bottle up Tim Hightower. Look for Reggie Wayne to get back into the swing of things and the Colts should pick up a big road win and take firm control of the AFC South.

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