Indianapolis

The Indianapolis Colts are now tied for first place in their division. In one of my earlier posts, I discussed the importance of winning the division. Well the Colts are now tied for first place. They have been riddled with injuries to their key starters all year long and it is starting to take a toll in their games. When they played against easier competition, Peyton Manning was still able to win close games and keep his offense in a somewhat efficient rhythm, but now that the Colts are facing tougher competition, injuries have begun to become a very decisive factor on their losses. Since the Colts can not run the ball, Peyton Manning has begun to throw more interceptions and has had more pressure. The Colts’ defense can not stop the run and continuously allows other teams’ halfbacks to run for over 100 yards. The Indianapolis Colts need to win out the rest of their games to secure the division. This will hopefully become easier as they begin to regain some of their injured players. Peyton Manning can only do so much and now even he can not win games. This team needs to get healthy quickly. 

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010112811/2010/REG12/chargers@colts/recap/quick-take?module=HP_headlines

Colts vs Patriots

It’s that time of year again. The Indianapolis Colts play against the New England Patriots this week. This is my favorite game of the year by far. My brother is a Patriots fan so I greatly enjoy watching these two teams battle it out. This year’s matchup holds a lot of importance once again. This game could possibly decide which team gets homefield advantage in the playoffs. The Patriots and Colts are both at the top of their conference and a win here will very likely be the difference between seeds. The Colts will be missing some players still but they look to have wide receiver Austin Collie back for this game. The Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady and Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning are the best at their position. This game will be another great matchup between the NFL’s best. Both teams have a lot of respect for each other and have a great history of games. The Colt’s are looking for another win to help win their division and hopefully get homefield advantage while the Patriots look to keep their lead and homefield advantage. It will be up to Peyton Manning to score enough points to keep this game competitive. New England’s defense will have to stop Manning.

http://www.1070thefan.com/eddie/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10164888

NFL playoffs

The current NFL playoff system puts great importance on winning the division. There are six playoff spots open per conference in the playoffs at the end of the season. Four spots go to the winner of each division and two spots go to the two teams who did not win their division but had the best record. These teams are called the wild card teams. The two division winners with the highest record get to have a bye week during the playoffs. The four remaining teams play during the first week of the playoffs. The team with the highest record will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Every other team who does not win the division has to compete for the two best records against the whole conference. This makes winning the division very important. Winning the division guarantees the team a spot in the playoffs. This year there are about six teams in the hunt for those two wildcard spots. Winning the division is more crucial this year than in most. For a team like the Colts, the division win will probably go down to the last game of the season. The NFL playoff system makes for some competitive regular seasons. 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/516136-nfl-playoffs-which-team-will-finish-the-season-with-the-best-record

Experience among rookie quarterbacks

Experience is everything in the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns are planning to start their rookie quarterback this week against the NFL leading Patriots due to imjuries. Quarterbacks need time to get used to the NFL and playing games allows them to do that. Like everything else, doing something gets one better at it. A quarterback can sit on the sidelines and learn from the side but that will not be as effective as actually going out there and playing. Peyton Manning played his first year and through 28 interceptions but the learning experience was very beneficial to him. Mark Sanchez, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, to name a few, all started their rookie seasons and are now playing at a high level. A quarterback needs to get used to the time he has in the pocket since usually it is less time than in college. Most importantly, a quarterback needs to get used to the speed of the NFL. The NFL is comprised of some of the best athletes in the country. A quarterback usually plays against mediocre talent in college so he needs time to adjust to the NFL. Experience is crucial to rookie quarterbacks. 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81be1533/article/mangini-has-no-qualms-starting-rookie-mccoy-vs-patriots?module=HP_headlines

MVP for the NFL

Tom Brady is among those being talked about for Most Valuable Player of the year. Tom Brady is being lauded for having a record of 4-1 with losses at the line because of injury and the loss of Randy Moss. His numbers are not very impressive with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. Brady is still leading his team to victories. One person people tend to forget about is Peyton Manning. He has lead his team to a 4-2 record but has 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions for a league-leading passer rating of 103.4. Peyton Manning has had many injuries to his team at many offensive positions and still continues to have the best start to his career. Peyton Manning deserves the MVP award because he has more injuries to deal with along with better numbers. Peyton Manning has to play near perfect football every week to have a chance at winning and many times he does. The Colts would not win many games without Peyton Manning and that is what makes him the most valuable player to his team. While many teams have great players, not many have one as crucial to their success as Peyton Manning.

 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/don_banks/10/21/nfl.awards/index.html

Cover 3

I want to discuss the topic I had said I would discuss in this blog post. I had previously explained how the cover 2 works in its basic forms. I now want to discuss how the cover 3 generally works. Cover three means there are three defensive backs covering the deep part of the field. They can either divide the field up into three or they can divide it by ¼ ¼ and 1/2. Cover 3 means the middle of the field will be closed. By just looking at the middle of the field, a quarterback can identify whether it’s cover 2 or cover 3 or 1. Cover 1 also has the middle of the field closed. When playing cover 3, there will almost always be at least one safety covering a deep part of the field. There still need to be people covering the flats so that responsibility is left to a linebacker and a cornerback. Which corner back it is depends on cloud or sky coverage. If the call is sky the strong safety has the flat and the corner is deep. If the call is cloud the strong side corner has the flat and the strong safety is deep. I hope this helps people wishing to understand football a little better.

Injuries

I would like to say that I will continue with the cover 3 topic on my next blog. I recently learned that Indianapolis Colts tight-end Dallas Clark had surgery on his hand and has been placed on the injury-reserved list. For those who do not know what the injury reserve list is, the injury-reserved list is a list where players are placed when the team feels that a player can not return for the rest of the season. Once they are put on the list, they are not allowed to return until the next season. Why is this one injury so important? Well, Dallas Clark is pretty much Peyton Manning’s second option. Dallas Clark demands double-teams or he will carve up a defense. Clark is too fast to be covered by most linebackers and too strong to go one-on-one with a cornerback. Dallas Clark is an important part of this offence. With Indianapolis Colt’s wide receiver Austin Collie recently also having had hand surgery and wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez nursing a sprained ankle, another injury is the last thing the colts needed. Add to the list running back Joseph Addai who hurt his shoulder last week and backup running back Donald Brown. This is just one side of the ball. On Defense the Colts have lost many players to injury as well. Peyton Manning and the Colts have to play perfect football to have a chance with these many injuries.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81b86a50/article/wrist-surgery-ends-season-for-colts-te-clark?module=HP_headlines

Cover 2

Cover 3 or cover 2? Middle open or middle closed? This is one of the main things a quarterback looks for at the snap of the ball. Typically in a game, there are two safeties who share the field on defense. These two safeties usually are aligned next to each other and are the deepest defensive players on the field. Cover 3 and cover 2 refer to the coverage a defense is playing. Typically when playing cover 2, the two safeties split the field in half. They are responsible for any receiver that goes deep. The two safeties splitting causes the middle of the field to be exposed. Former head coach Tony Dungy helped create a defense which was basically a zone cover two. The safeties are responsible for the deep halves of the field and the cornerbacks are responsible for the flats while the linebackers cover the short middle. The only difference in Tony Dungy’s defense was that the middle linebacker had deep middle responsibilities. The middle linebacker, often referred to as the mike, would cover the deep middle of the field hoping to eliminate the exposed middle of the field that the regular cover two would leave open. The main weaknesses of a cover two are the open areas between the cornerback and the safeties and the open area in the middle of the field. The safeties are also left one on one against deep threats. On my next post, I will explain how the cover 3 works.

Contract Holds

Every year you hear about NFL players holding out for a better contract. They sign a contract, play good football and ask for more money. When they are not given the money asked for, they hold out. I don’t think people working other jobs go up to their boss and demand more money after doing well. NFL players think they should get more money than they originally agreed to if they feel like they are playing at a higher level, but would they return money if they underperformed. The answer is no. NFL players are quick to ask for money when they over perform their contract but usually never give money back when they under perform. A contract is a contract for a reason and players should stick to it and not bring up unnecessary drama by holding out and not playing. NFL athletes are usually looked up to by younger kids and this example of holding out when they do not get what they want is harmful to kids. They are better off playing it out and getting awarded after they continue to work hard. NFL athletes are already getting enough money as it is and they do not need to behave this way to receive more. These are just my thoughts on contract holds by some NFL players.

Randy Moss Trade a Bad Thing?

Earlier this week, the New England Patriots traded wide receiver Randy Moss to the Vikings. The trade was made for a third and seventh round pick of next year’s draft. Randy Moss helped Tom Brady in making their 2007 offense one of the best offense’s in NFL history. During Randy Moss’ stay at New England, he managed to break the record for most touchdowns in a season. He was always a deep threat with the potential to get a touchdown on every catch. This trade would seem like bad news to an already struggling New England team. Tom Brady no longer has a deep threat to take off coverage from Wes Welker and other receivers. What this trade does allow though is the ability for Tom Brady to just throw it to his open receiver like he did before Randy Moss arrived. He would force throws to Randy Moss which would occasionally end in interceptions because their game plan and Moss’ ego would call for that. Now he has the freedom to just hit the open receiver. Tom Brady can now go back to his old form and let his receivers get open. Randy Moss was going to be let go after this season so they were able to get something for him. Now the Patriots can look to develop other younger receivers who will eventually be able to make New England’s offence potent again.

Jacksonville vs Indianapolis

During this weeks Jacksonville-Indianapolis matchup, the two teams went out on a shootout that ended in Jacksonville’s favor. The Jaguars ran all over the Colts once again while Peyton Manning tried to do what he does best. The Jaguars started off the game by scoring a touchdown on a run by Jaguars’ quarterback, David Gerrard. The Colt’s answered back with a touchdown of their own. The two teams battled it out staying within a touchdown of each other throughout the game. During the third quarter, the Jaguars made a touchdown to make the score 21-14. Indianapolis answered back with a  96 yard drive that ended with a 2 yard run from Joseph Addai. Once again Jacksonville scored another touchdown to take the lead at 28-21. This time it was a touchdown pass from David Gerrard to Mercedes Lewis. Peyton Manning rallied another comeback with a one yard touchdown pass to Austin Collie. The Jaguars got the ball with very little time left. The game appeared to be headed into overtime. The Jaguars got into what appeared to be field goal range with just under 15 seconds left. They attempted a pass to get closer but Colts’ cornerback Kelvin Hayden nearly intercepted the pass. His dropped interception would come back to haunt him. With five seconds left, Josh Scobee attempted a 59 yard field goal. The field goal was good and made the score 31-28 to end the game.

18 Game Regular Season

There is word that an 18 game regular season is in the future. Although this makes for more football for us to watch and more money for the owners, the players and coaches are not for it. Rookies especially, who are trying to make a team, will have less preseason games to play in and show what they have to offer. The increase in the regular season will mean a decrease in the preseason by two games. That’s 120 minutes less to evaluate rookies and players. It’s 120 minutes less for the starters to get the feel of the game again. The time during the preseason is crucial for developing a rapport between players and for teaching the rookies the ropes of NFL football. Receivers who need time to practice their timing with quarterbacks will have less time and in effect be less effective during games. The added two games also means there will be greater chance for injury during the season. In a time where the NFL is trying to lower the amount of injuries, the NFL increases the chance of injury by adding two additional games. Teams that make it to the Superbowl will have to play 22 games in one season. Sure we would all like to see more football on Sundays, but at what cost?

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100927019

Football

First and foremost, I apologize for not giving a proper introduction of myself. I'm writing blogs for my English 100 class at Cal State Long Beach. I love football particularly the NFL so I decided to write about my thoughts on it. My favortite team is the Indianapolis Colts but I like to watch every good game. I feel that my knowledge of the game of football is pretty good overall. I watch football every sunday and like to look at the x's and o's of it. I also like to keep myself pretty informed on which team players have gone to and such. I love the feeling of seeing your favorite team make a comeback late in the fourth quarter. One of my favorite football moments came when the Indianapolis Colts came back and won the playoff game that took them to their first Superbowl. The Colts beat the New England Patriots 38-34 after trailing 17-6 at halftime. Well I'll be giving my opinions on games and strategies teams use as well as important stats. My first post was one the Saints while my other post was on the Colts. I'll try to vary my topics and not just focus on my favorite team but if many of my posts are on the Indianapolis Colts, the reasons will be obvious.

2 is better than 1

The days of a one running back system which the running back gets 30 carries are now over. Currently, running backs split carries to keep them fresh and to have a change of pace towards other teams. One team that does this very well is the Indianapolis Colts. Starting with Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes in 2006, the colts began to use the two-back system. They went on to win the Superbowl that year. It was very effective in keeping the two running backs fresh and healthy for the playoffs. In 2009 the Colts spent their first round pick on another running back, Donald Brown. Last week against the New York Giants, the two running backs showed what they could do when combined. On their opening drive, they accounted for 39 yards. By the end of the game, Addai and Brown had combined for 161 yards on 36 carries. They also combined for three catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. These running backs are very productive because they are well rounded. They can run, catch and block. If needed, they can line up in the receiver position and go out on a route. Having these two backs helps keep them healthy and fresh for games further into the season. The Indianapolis Colts have found success with the two-back system and firmly believe in it. This gives defenses one more thing to worry about on top of that Peyton Manning guy. 

Are the New Orleans Saints over hyped?

The New Orleans Saints seem to be over hyped by the media recently. Their current record stands at 2-0 but their victories have been less than stellar. Their offense only put up 14 points in against the Vikings. Fortunately for them, that was all that was needed as the Vikings only put up nine. The next week, the Saints beat the 49ers in a close game 25-22. The New Orleans’ offense looked very average and Drew Brees threw some bad looking passes. In my opinion, the Saints did not win this game; the 49ers lost it. The 49ers had 3 turnovers in the red zone which were mostly off of tipped passes. Adding to this was a muffed punt late in the 4th quarter. The Saints defense let Alex Smith drive 80 yards in 2 minutes to tie the game late in the 4th quarter. 49ers don't even have a great offense, average at best. The 49ers had previously gotten destroyed 31-6 by the Seahawks. The Saints have been doing barely what is necessary to win. They came back and got a field goal to win the game. The week before, they scored just enough to win. They have not been overly impressive and with the loss of Reggie Bush, look for the Saints to start losing some games. The Saints do not look like the reigning champs.