Saturday, September 25, 2010

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. 

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

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.