Posted by Eric Engberg on September 25, 2008
The third week of the NFL season saw a pair of rookie runners show off their blazing speed and the top QB taken in the draft rebound from an abysmal outing to post another solid start. We also saw another rookie quarterback make his pro debut and the top tight end taken in the draft score his first career touchdown.
Steve Slaton, Houston – Week three was Slaton’s time to shine as he cruised to 116 yards on 18 carries including his first career touchdown against a stout Tennessee defense. For the year Slaton has 159 yards and is averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
Felix Jones, Dallas – Continues to use his elite speed to deliver big plays for the Cowboys. Jones was rather ineffective aside from his 60 yard touchdown run. Jones compiled a career-high 76 yards on six carries. For the season he has 148 yards on 18 carries for a whopping 8.2 yards per carry. Jones has also made a major impact for the Cowboys as a kick returner. In 3 games he has two returns of 40 or more yards including a 98-yarder for a touchdown against Philadelphia.
Matt Ryan, Atlanta – Ryan rebounded from an abysmal outing against the Buccaneers to post another solid game against the Chiefs completing 12 of 18 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. It is tough to gauge just where Ryan is along the developmental process as his two best games have come against two of the worst teams in the league while his only game against a potentially playoff caliber team was not good. For the year Ryan has completed 53.1% of his passes for 511 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions.
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Posted in Football, NFL | Tagged: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Chad Henne, Chicago Bears, Chris Johnson, Dallas Cowboys, Darren McFadden, Denver Broncos, DeSean Jackson, Dustin Keller, Eddie Royal, Felix Jones, Houston Texans, Jamaal Charles, Jerod Mayo, Joe Flacco, John Carlson, Jonahtan Stewart, Kansas City Chiefs, Kevin O'Connell, Matt Forte, Matt Ryan, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, NFL Rookie Recap, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphis Eagles, Ray Rice, Seattle Seahawks, Steve Slaton, Tennessee Titans, Tim Hightower | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Eric Engberg on September 16, 2008
Darren McFadden, Oakland – McFadden had a breakout game this week piling up 164 yards on 21 carries against the hapless Chiefs. McFadden showed everyone why he was considered the top talent available in the draft. The only real knock on his performance is that he put the ball on the ground twice which was main knock on his game coming out of Arkansas. McFadden’s performance made him the second leading rusher amongst rookie backs this year with 210 yards and 5th in the NFL.
Chris Johnson, Tennessee – Continued to shine for the TItans posting his first 100 yard game of his career piling up 109 yards on 19 carries. Johnson’s 202 yards rank him third amongst rookie runners.
Johnathan Stewart, Carolina – Stewart came up big for the Panthers scoring two second half touchdowns to go with a career high 77 yards. Stewarts 130 yards rank 4th amongst rookies and his two touchdowns are the most amongst all rookie running backs.
DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia – Jackson posted another 100 yard recieving against Dallas hauling in 6 balls for 110 yards. Jackson’s 12 catches rate second amongst rookies and his 216 yards are tops amongst rookies and 4th in the NFL. He is quickly emerging as the top wideout in the 2008 rookie class.
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Posted in Football, NFL | Tagged: Antoine Cason, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Chad Henne, Chicago Bears, Chris Horton, Chris Johnson, Dallas Cowboys, Darren McFadden, Denver Broncos, DeSean Jackson, Eddie Royal, Felix Jones, John Carlson, Johnathan Stewart, Kendall Langford, Lawrence Jackson, Matt Forte, Matt Ryan, Miami Dolphins, NFL Rookie Recap, NFL Rookies, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Eric Engberg on September 9, 2008
Some of the things I see on ESPN boggles my mind from time to time. I was perusing their NFL power rankings online today and some of what is listed on here does not make a ton of sense. Let us just go down the list in order.
First, the Chargers drop from second to third despite the fact that they lost at home to what was the 17th ranked team in the Panthers. Not to mention the Panthers were playing without their biggest offensive weapon in Steve Smith. In relation to that beating the second best team on the road ws only good enough to move the Panthers up to 12th.
The Saints move from 7th to 4th on the basis of beating the Buccaneers.
Defensive overhaul is working wonders and Reggie Bush is off to a hot start.
So basically because the Saints held the Buccaneers, a team who averaged 21 points and 327 yards of offense, to 20 points and 352 yards of offense the defense is now fixed. The Bucs ran up 9 yards per carry against the Saints. I fail to see how that was a stout defensive performance by New Orleans this past weekend. What makes this comment even dumber is the one they listed for the Bucs:
Showed no big-play capability and the defense is looking old.
So wow, they held a team that shows no big-play capability to 20 points.
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Posted in Football, NFL | Tagged: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, ESPN Power Rankings, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, NFL Power Rankings, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins | Leave a Comment »
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