NFL Posts:

The San Francisco 49ers Lead Off the Egotastic! NFL Awards for Week 15

By Eric Gray | December 17, 2012 @ 9:22 am
Road Warriors of the Week
Rookie of the Week
Surprise Performance of the Week
Tire Fire of the Week
Last Minute Hero of the Week
Offensive Truck of the Week
Fantasy Star of the Week
View the Gallery / 8 Photos »

I'm sure there are some East Coast NFL fans who went to bed early after the Niners were up 31-3 on the Patriots in the third quarter. Man, did they miss a hell of a game. Tom Brady led his team back to tie the game, but San Francisco was able to hang on for the huge (and wild) road win, 41-34. Colin Kaepernick sure isn't afraid of the big stage.

There were some big surprises out there in week 15. How about the Giants getting their asses handed to them in Atlanta, 34-0? The defending Super Bowl champs are inconsistent and are now are in a three way tie for the NFC East lead. The Bears continue to look like a fraud. After starting the season 7-1 and being considered a serious Super Bowl contender, Chicago has gone 1-5 over the last six weeks to fall behind Minnesota for a playoff spot. Speaking of Minnesota, Adrian Peterson ran for 212 yesterday to get within 293 yards of tying Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record. It's going to be an exciting final two weeks of the year.

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Buffalo GM Wants to Trade up to Get a Quarterback – Take That, Fitzpatrick

By Eric Gray | December 14, 2012 @ 1:07 pm
Buffalo celebrates a CJ Spiller TD

Being an NFL quarterback is tough. Sure you get a lot of credit for wins, but on the flip side you get most of the blame in losses. Sign a big contract, like Ryan Fitzpatrick did in Buffalo, and the pressure starts to mount even more. The Harvard grad inked an extension in October of 2011 for $59 million over six years with $24 million guaranteed.

Still, it looks like Buffalo is already thinking about the post-Fitzpatrick era since their GM Buddy Nix said in an interview that the team would be willing to trade up to get a young quarterback. I'm sure Fitzpatrick can't feel too great about hearing that. The conventional wisdom used to be to draft a guy, let the vet help groom him to take his job, and then put the guy out there after a year or two.

But the last couple of years with guys like Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, and Russell Wilson, teams are finding out that rookies are coming into the NFL more ready to play than ever. I'm not saying Fitzpatrick is the answer in Buffalo, because he isn't, but damn if that isn't a little slap in the face to the guy. Also, that picture is hilarious.

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The Philadelphia Eagles Literally Can’t Get Out of Their Own Way

By Eric Gray | December 14, 2012 @ 11:35 am
Marvin McNutt with the own team blocked punt

To say the Philadelphia Eagles have been a disaster this season would be an understatement. They had an eight-game losing streak and have just been awful in all aspects of the game. They played last night, though even the most hardcore, degenerate gamblers would have had a hard time sitting down to watch it. Well, unless they took Cincinnati, and why wouldn't they? The Eagles got smoked, 34-13, but their whole season can be summed up in one play.

I've been watching the NFL for a long, long time and I'm pretty sure I've never seen this happen. Philly lines up for the punt and Marvin McNutt blocks his own team's punt with his ribs. With two weeks left and the college bowl season about to get underway, the Eagles can just start looking forward to April's draft.

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David Wilson Should Get the Start Sunday for the Giants

By Eric Gray | December 14, 2012 @ 11:18 am
David Wilson en route to his third TD against the Saints in week 14

David Wilson, the New York Giants rookie running back who set team and NFL records last Sunday, will most likely get his first NFL start on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Wilson had 327 all-purpose yards in New York's blowout of the Saints last week and needed only 13 carries to reach 100 yards on the day.

Ahmad Bradshaw sprained his knee in that game and the injury will keep him out of the week 15 contest with Atlanta. Wilson, who fumbled in the first game of the year and was stuck in coach Tom Coughlin's doghouse for most of the year, proclaimed he would make the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in October. Since then I've been tracking his progress, and up until last week there wasn't any reason to believe Wilson would reach his goal.

That week 14 performance was a thing of beauty though, and showed that Wilson has the athleticism and explosiveness to succeed. Now as he's gearing up for his first career start, here's to hoping he can keep doing it.

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Detroit Lions Say Eff it, We’re Just Going to Throw it to Calvin Johnson

By Eric Gray | December 14, 2012 @ 8:38 am
Calvin Johnson makes a catch in week 14
Earning That Money
CJ Got Big Bucks back in the Spring Read More »

With just three games left in the season and no shot at the playoffs, the Detroit Lions have one goal in mind; get the single season receiving yards record for Calvin Johnson. Megatron isn't that far away from Jerry Rice's mark of 1,848 yards. In fact, Johnson needs just 101 yards each game to beat Rice by one yard.

Johnson is averaging 118 yards a game for a total of 1,546 on the season. I don't see a problem with the Lions publicly declaring this. It's not like it's a secret that they try to get the ball to Johnson all the time anyway. Johnson is a standup guy and wants it to be a team thing. 

"It's definitely something that I take joy in that my teammates are right behind me on this thing," Johnson said. "They want me to get it as much as I want to get it."

The only issue is that opposing teams will now do whatever they can to prevent Johnson from getting the record. And the three teams the Lions have left are Arizona (number 5 pass defense in the NFL), Atlanta (number 14), and Chicago (number 6) so it won't be easy. But congrats if you have Johnson or Matthew Stafford on your fantasy team and you're still in the playoffs.

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ESPN’s Rob Parker Wonders if Robert Griffin III ‘is a Brother or Cornball Brother’

By Eric Gray | December 13, 2012 @ 1:38 pm
ESPN's Rob Parker wonders about Robert Griffin III
First Take's Rob Parker, Ladies and Gentlemen!

If you're ever trying to make an argument and Stephen A. Smith is suddenly the voice of reason, it's probably safe to say you probably stepped over the line. Rob Parker decided to take on Washington Redskins rookie sensation Robert Griffin III today on ESPN's trollfest First Take by wondering if RG3 is 'a brother or a cornball brother?'

My question is, and it’s just a straight, honest question: Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother,” Parker said. “He’s not really. He’s black, he does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause. He’s not one of us. He’s kind of black, but he’s not really like the kind of guy you really want to hang out with.

Yikes. Besides it not being anybody's business how Griffin decides to live his life, why is Parker even questioning this? What does he have to do to earn Parker's respect as a black man? Seems kind of silly, but at least Stephen A. was there, which is something I didn't think I would ever write. Read More » »

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Ben Roethlisberger Declares the Steelers ‘The World’s Team’

By Eric Gray | December 12, 2012 @ 1:32 pm
Big Ben's Trash Talk Needs Work
Ben Roethlisberger drops back to pass during a loss to the Chargers

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys are two of the NFL's most storied franchises. Between the two of them, they've won 11 of the 46 Super Bowls that have been played, with Pittsburgh taking six Lombardi trophies and Dallas taking five. The Steelers beat the Cowboys twice in the '70s, so these two have a pretty decent rivalry for being in different conferences.

They meet up this week in Dallas, and Steelers' QB Ben Roethilsberger isn't sold on the Cowboys being 'America's Team.' In fact, Ben told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that if the Cowboys are America's team, then the Steelers are the 'World's team.' Okay, whatever. It's a pretty silly thing to say, but at least he's taking shots I guess. Both teams are in desperation mode for the playoffs, so maybe this nonsense will light some more fire for the game.

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