NFL Football Week 18 – The Golden Age of Passing
January 2, 2008
NFL; In the new millennium the quarterback position has become the most coveted of all destinations in pro football. Where the focus of the game once lay squarely on a teams ability to run the football today’s fans are enthralled by the pass instead. Surrounded by bruising offensive linemen and protected in a soft cottony web of regulations and penalties designed to keep them safe and sound, the new generation of quarterbacks are truly an elite breed. The exalted Heisman trophy, once the domain of fullbacks and halfbacks, and the literal embodiment of which has been a trophy of a stiff armed runner, has been given to an NCAA passer in seven of the last eight years.
NFL Football Week 17 – Individual Performances
December 26, 2007
San Diego; Well, it has taken him until the final week of the NFL regular season to do it but LaDainian Tomlinson has finally broken out in front of Willie Parker, Adrian Peterson and Willis McGahee to take the lead among all NFL rushers for 2007. Parker is out for the last two games of the season with a broken bone in his leg, and Peterson was held to a mere 27 yards rushing by the Redskins last week in a decisive game that saw Minnesota’s quarterback rushing for more yardage than the running backs, and which brought Washington to the forefront of the NFC wild card race.
The Weekly Buzz - NFL Football Week 15
December 12, 2007
Cyberspace; On the heels of the court hearing in which former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his participation in an operation consisting of dog fighting, gambling, and cruelty towards animals, the famed YouTube website has posted a rather low class video that features mug shots of Vick and other NFL players. The video, which is sarcastically called “The NFL’s Finest” is accompanied by a soundtrack of the Trey Parker song “Montage” and gives a slide show of police booking photos of 49 current and former pro football players.
NFL Football Week 14 – Fallen Heroes Still Battling
December 5, 2007
Washington DC; Every week we watch NFL officials enforcing league rules meant to protect players from injury; a significant number of penalties are handed out for “personal fouls”, such as unnecessary roughness, late hits and blows to the head. And while we have heard plenty of remarks from all variety of sources but more especially the game commentators about how “this is a rough sport” and we ought to just “let them play football”, not much mention is made of why these rules are in effect and more especially what happens when even stringent means of protecting the players break down and our gridiron heroes are carried off the field with game, season or sometimes career ending injuries.
Sean Taylor Dies at 24
November 29, 2007
Washington DC; “You can’t be scared of death,” Redskins starting safety Sean Taylor told a D.C. radio station this September in his last known interview. “When that time comes, it comes.” That time has come for Taylor who died from injuries he sustained during an armed assault in his Miami area home early on the morning of November 27. He was 24 years old, had an 18 month old baby and was just beginning what had promised to be a brilliant NFL career. Taylor’s death, which is the subject of an ongoing and far-reaching homicide investigation by the Miami Dade police department has left his team-mates and family stricken with grief.
The Weekly Buzz, NFL Week 11
November 21, 2007
Green Bay; In one moment, the season changed for Vikings ace running back Adrian Peterson. A tackle from Green Bay cornerback Al Harris that caught him down low left Peterson writhing on the ground with a torn ligament in his right knee. “That pain was horrible. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced pain where you don’t want anybody to touch you. Just be still for a few minutes until it calms down. That’s the kind of pain it was.” Peterson said. “Not really knowing what to expect because it was my knee. I was just praying, God please, don’t let it be anything serious.” The injury is a devastating one for Minnesota who depend on Peterson largely for their entire offense. Their quarterback situation has been very unstable with erratic performance by starting QB Tarvaris Jackson and Peterson has accounted for more than two thirds of the teams rushing yardage. The positive news is that the knee injury does not require surgery and is not season ending, but the Vikings will have to look for other avenues to score in the near future, including the upcoming game against the Raiders.
