Stat of the Day
>> Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The New England Patriots averaged 411.2 yards of total offense in 2007.
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Bye Bye Benson
Hopefully Cedric Benson is happy in Texas because he's not welcome back in Chicago.
On Monday the Chicago Bears parted ways with their running back after he had his second run in with the law in less then a month. Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo stated "Cedric displayed a pattern of behavior we will not tolerate....As I said this past weekend, you have to protect your job. Everyone in this organization is held accountable for their actions. When individual priorities overshadow team goals, we suffer the consequences as a team. Those who fail to understand the importance of ‘team’ will not play for the Chicago Bears.”
Breaking into the starting role this past season, Benson didn't quite live up to expectations averaging 3.4 yards per carry (674 total yards) with only 4 Touchdowns.
With Benson no longer employed by the Bears, this leaves the team quite thin at the Running Back position. They have 5 running backs on the roster; however, 2 are rookies (Matt Forte and Matt Lawrence) and the other 3 (Adrian Peterson, P.J Pope and Garrett Wolfe) have less then 1,500 total yards between them in 10 years.
Michael Strahan's Taking Off the Cleats
>> Monday, June 9, 2008
Announcing his decision before the Giants begin their mini-camp, Michael Strahan states he will retire.
Foxsports.com announced the New York Giants All-Pro will retire after 15 seasons with the Blue and White. He was a second-round pick by the Giants in the 1993 NFL Draft out of Texas Southern University. During his 15 year career he accumulated 141 1/2 sacks and is the single season record holder with 22 1/2 sacks. (Coincidental how both Strahan and Brett Favre retire in the same season after being linked with that controversial sack in 2001).
It is reported Strahan came to this decision days ago but wanted to sit on it before making it official. Strahan is 36 years old.
Myron Cope: 1929-2008
>> Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Just came across this and wanted to share it here. A true media legend. Video via WTAETV Channel at YouTube.
Stat of the Day
Peyton Manning made $30,500,000 in 2007 making him the highest paid NFL player according to Forbes.com. He earned $17,500,000 in salary and $13,000,000 in endorsements.
Read more...Michael Marquardt: Focused on His NFL Future
>> Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Former Arizona State defensive end Michael Marquardt kindly spoke with Football Review Daily prior to the NFL Draft.
He recently signed a rookie free agent contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. The defensive end’s journey to the NFL began in a football family, detoured abroad, and was finalized at Arizona State.
Marquardt grew up in a football household. His father Peter played at UCLA and his two older brothers also played collegiate football. Daniel played on the defensive line at Brigham Young University and Brian played at defensive tackle for Weber State. While a certain amount of competitiveness permeated the household, Marquardt believes that the support dynamic was more important for his development. “There is a degree of competitiveness, but on the flip side,” Marquardt added, “I used to call one of my brothers after every game and ask him what he thought.”
Before his junior season, Marquardt spent time abroad as a missionary for his LDS church. Living and working in the futbol hotbed of Argentina seems like hardly a place to hone one’s American football skills, but the time spent in Bahia Blanca allowed Marquardt to set his sights on his football future. “You really become more focused on what you want.” Marquardt continued, “You have that time to sit and think about it.”
With his mission work finished, Marquardt completed two successful campaigns for the Sun Devils. He started all 23 collegiate games he played in. In both his junior and senior season, he was named as an All-Pac-10 honorable mention. In his final regular-season game against the University of Arizona on December 1, 2007, the senior captain blocked a field goal attempt, recovered a fumble, and added a solo tackle. After the game, he was named the Most Valuable Player, a distinction that earned him the Ben Goo Trophy.
The student-athlete majored in urban planning. He was also a two-time First Team Pac-10 All-Academic selection and he was named to Arizona State University’s National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Scholar-Athletes.
Now a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, Marquardt feels that the time he invested this spring preparing for the NFL will be the difference. “There was nothing to distract me from preparing for the NFL. It has been really nice to focus on football.”
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Adrian Peterson Aims for 2,000…Can He Do It? (Part II)
>> Sunday, June 1, 2008
By: Mo Noorali
Football Review Daily
Read Part I: The 5 RBs in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards
Now, let’s look at what Adrian Peterson’s chances are of eclipsing the 2,000 yard mark. The Tavaris factor can be thrown out the window, since history is showing us that the worse the passing offense (3 of the 5 2,000 yard rushers were on a team that was last or 2nd last in the league in passing yards), the more yards for Peterson. In other words, greatness finds ways to get their yards, even if the defense knows its coming. Another thing Peterson has going for him is the fact that he has a great defense backing him, as did four of the five previous 2,000 yard rushers (with Barry Sanders being the exception). Having a good defense helps because they force three and outs, and help the offense get more possessions, which leads to more potential carries for the back (in the Lions case, they just let the other team score as quickly as possible, and Barry got his chances that way).
The Vikings should also be good enough to (at least) land in the middle of the pack in points scored, as have the other five teams of the previous 2,000 yard rushers. Also similar to all the teams but the 1998 Broncos, the Vikings will probably have a record around 9-7 or 10-6. Another similarity between AD and four of the five players to previously accomplish the feat is that he is known as an “upright runner” (all the others were except for Sanders). On that note, some feel that Peterson being an upright runner leaves him susceptible to big hits from on-coming linebackers and safeties, which will lead to him getting injured. Though it is a fact Adrian has not had a completely healthy season since his senior year in HS, it looked like he was going to make it last year, until a fluke of an injury. If Peterson stays healthy all year will it be enough?
History tells us that Chester Taylor’s presence will not stop Peterson since all five current members of the 2,000 yard club played on teams that were either 1st or 2nd in the league in rushing, and all five allowed their teammates to pick up at least 400 yards. It is possible that Chester gets more than that, but he should not get many more than that, he should get about 100 carries, and at a generous 4.5 yards per carry, he would yield 450 yards on the season. The carries though will be Peterson’s downfall. There is no way the Vikings will let him carry the ball more than 300 times. OJ Simpson had the least carries of the five, at 332 to reach the feat.
Even if we were to bump Peterson’s average of 5.6 yards per carry last year to 6.2 this year (which would be higher than any of the other 2,000 yard rushers), at 300 carries, that is still going to leave him 140 yards short of the mark. For those of you that think if he gets close enough, the Vikings will increase his load so that he can reach the mark, think again. There are too many other factors, such as potential rest in the final game for the playoffs, the track record of 2,000 yard rushers in the following season (there has always been a considerable drop off the next season), and the fact that they would choose his future health over a potentially historic season.
The truth is that, the way the NFL is constructed right now; there might not ever be another 2,000 yard rusher. Teams are starting to favor the two-back system more and more, and the health risks of giving one guy that big of a load (to get all the way to 2,000 yards) outweigh everything else. With that said, Peterson does have a chance to do it down the line, since the NFL could be changing very soon. It has been reported that in the new CBA a 17th regular season could be added, which could give Peterson a chance, but until that happens, the chances of another 2,000 yard rusher are pretty slim.
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