Week 10s Best and Worst NFL Performances

Here is Week 10s Best and Worst Performances.  I'm sorry for missing Week 9s, so I'll make sure to make this edition that much better.

Best:


Chicago Defense: It looks something like a Christmas list with the amount of gifts that the Lions handed the Bears' defense, but nonetheless, it was quite an accomplishment for Da Bears!  They intercepted Matthew Stafford four times, recovered two fumbles, had two defensive touchdowns, and recorded four sacks.  The defense alone would have beaten the Lions, but just for good measures, their offense also scored 23 additional points.

Aaron Rodgers: He's becoming a mainstay in the "Best" performances category, but with another four TD effort and 250-yards passing, he is making it easier and easier to pencil his name into the MVP slot.  With the Packers' undefeated record and his outstanding play, people are beginning to talk about Rodgers in the same category as Tom Brady from his unprecedented season in 2007-08.

Denarius Moore: The rookie had by far his best performance as a pro on Thursday night against the Chargers, catching five balls for 123 yards and two TDs.  He may become Carson Palmer's new favorite receiver as a deep threat because the dude has nasty speed.  Expect to see his numbers consistently climb for the rest of the season and remember where and when this kid had his breakout game.

Worst:


Matthew Stafford: And just as soon as everyone jumped on the Lions' bandwagon, they came up with a performance this past weekend that resembled their 0-16 days.  This was of course a fluke on every level, but especially for Stafford.  His four interceptions on Sunday doubled his total for the season.  He'll have to get it turned around fast before the Lions' big Thanksgiving tilt against the Packers.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Even with a Harvard education, Fitzpatrick couldn't solve the Dallas defense, getting picked off four times.  His performance made the Dallas defense actually look good and we all know that can't be possible... can it??  But, anyways, after a hot start, Fitzpatrick and the Bills have cooled off and are now sitting in tie for second with the Jets, one game behind the Patriots.  But there's still a lot of football remaining and remember, nobody circles the wagons like the BUFFALO BILLS!

Colts' Offense: On the one day when the Colts' defense actually played somewhat well (only surrendering 17 points), their offense chose to take the day off (although they've taken the whole season off) and only scored three points against the lowly Jaguars.  Every loss is another game closer to selecting Andrew Luck as the top pick in next year's NFL Draft, unless of course, Luck elects to stay in school for his senior year (which he may do just to avoid the Colts).

And there you have it, Week 10s Best and Worst Performances.  Don't worry Colts fans, there's always next season, when you actually have your beloved Peyton Manning back.

*Images Courtesy of Google Images*

Joe Frazier, RIP

Amidst all the controversy surround Penn State, the world lost a great human-being and athlete, Joe Frazier.  Frazier died early this morning at the age of 67 to liver cancer.
The once former heavyweight boxing champion of the world was easily one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen, but was never able to fully reach his peak because he fought in the Muhammad Ali era.    Despite stiff competition, Frazier battled Ali in three epic battles, defeating Ali in "The Battle of the Century" when he became the first person to beat Ali at Madison Square Garden.  The two finally resolved their epic three-part series with the "Thrilla in Manilla," when Ali beat Frazier by TKO after Frazier's trainer didn't allow him to go out for the 15th round because he couldn't see.  Ali later said after that fight that that fight was the "closest to dying that I know of."

In their three fights, Frazier was able to go 41 of the 45 possible rounds.  However, growing up in the Ali era forced Frazier to fight his critics rather than his opponents.  He had to constantly try to work out from Ali's shadow, ultimately never winning that battle.
In his 37 career fights, Frazier amassed a record of 32 wins (27 KO) 4 losses and 1 draw.
But, in the end, it seemed that his toughest battle was that of cancer and one that put him down for the count.
Joe Frazier was a great fighter, but an even greater person.  Rest In Peace Smokin' Joe.

*Images courtesy of Google Images*

This PSU Scandal Has Me All Fired Up

I'm sure by now that everyone has heard of the scandal surround the Penn State football program the last few days, unless you've been living under a rock.  But, I'm using this post as a way to air out everything that I think about this situation.

1.) Jerry Sandusky, former Athletic Director Tim Curley, and former Senior Vice President Gary Schultz are all disgusting human-beings.  Now granted, Sandusky is the only one who actually did molest the eight or so children, but for Curley and Schultz to try to keep this a secret is just plain unacceptable.  They had every right and opportunity to turn in the information that the grad assistant and Joe Paterno relayed to them and instead, they chose to spare the university the embarrassment and let more children come into harms way of Sandusky.  Now, everything has caught up to them and not only is their prominent football program taking a huge image hit in the midst of a very surprising season, in which the Nittany Lions are ranked 12th in the BCS standings, but Curley and Schultz are both out of jobs.  Shame on you, you, and you.

Former PSU defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky could be facing life behind bars if found guilty of molesting up to eight children.

2.) This is tough, but I'm very disappointed in Joe Paterno.  Now, you can ask anyone around and they'll all agree that I am about as far from a Penn State fan as they come, but I have tremendous amounts of respect for Joe Paterno.  That being said, he also needs to be at fault in this situation.  Everyone keeps defending him, saying he did the right thing by passing the information along to higher authority.  And yes, he did.  However, when he saw that nothing else was done after he did pass along the information, he needed to be the bigger man and report this to authorities.  I'm sure I'm going to catch a lot of flack for this next statement, but so be it.  If this was an incident pertaining to any other coach who isn't 86-years old, or doesn't have 409 career wins, they'd be on their way out the door.  I'm sure that any other school, such as Florida State, Clemson, Miami, USC, Florida, or any other national power football school would already have their coaches packing up their stuff.  But, at Penn State, JoePa is viewed as more than a coach, he's a legend and he's a God.

FBS' all-time winningest coach, Paterno is facing his toughest time in his 40+ years at Penn State

Paterno will go down as one of the greatest coaches in all of college football history, if not THE greatest, but with this happening so late in his career when people are already calling for his retirement, this will always linger in the back of people's minds when they look at Paterno's legacy.  And to be honest, it's disappointing, but it's the truth.

3.) And finally, what's next for Penn State?  Many schools have faced punishments that have resulted in the banning of a program for multiple years because of incidents that dealt with players receiving benefits.  I'll be surprised and will lose a lot of respect for the NCAA if there are no punishments pertaining to the PSU football program for the actions that took place within their chain of command.  If you let a program get off scott-free for a coach that molested young children, but punish programs who had players receive money or extra benefits, then there is something seriously wrong with the way that organization is run.

Fact of the matter is, this scandal is just beginning.  Sure there have been steps made to remove party members that are at fault, but there is so much more that can and needs to be done.  

*Images courtesy of Google Images*

Week 8's Best and Worst Performances

I know this post is coming a little late, hell it's almost time for Week 9, but here are Week 8's Best and Worst Performances.

Best:


LeSean McCoy: The man they call "Shady" might as well been a shadow to the Cowboys because they couldn't catch him.  He rushed for 185 yards and two TDs in route to helping the Eagles defeat their division rival.  His performance also got him named the "Offensive Player of the Week."

Steven Jackson: He's backkkkk.  Jackson, who was injured in Week 1 against the Eagles, hasn't really been able to get back to his form as a power runner.  That all changed this past weekend and unfortunately for the Saints, it was taken out on them.  In helping the Rams to their first win of the season, Jackson ran for 159 yards and two TDs.

Detroit Lions: It's hard to pick which of the many key performers from Detroit deserves this spot, so I've decided that the entire team deserves it.  The defense played magnificent, with two defensive scores, while Matt Stafford threw for three TDs, and Calvin Johnson caught another TD pass.

Worst:


Tim Tebow: Poor Tim.  He's had the fan support all season long to be the starter, but now he may not even have that.  He barely even has coach John Fox's approval.  He looked lost against the Lions, accounting for a fumble and interception that were both returned for touchdowns.  Hey, at least there's next week, but there may not be many more after that.

Chris Johnson: In the offseason, all he wanted was to get paid.  Now, Tennessee is really wishing they would have just let holdout longer.  Johnson once again was held to fewer than 60 yards rushing, now the sixth time (out of seven games) that that has happened.  It's gotten so bad that people are actually calling for backup running back JaVon Ringer to be the starter this weekend.

Redskins' Offense: Apparently they got stuck at customs because they were non-existent in this Toronto showdown.  John Beck barely had time to look up field before he was flat on his back.  The shutout is the team's first in what seems forever and it's Mike Shanahan's first in, well, forever.  Luckily for them, all their remaining games are played on U.S. soil.

That's all for this past weekend of action.  Stay tuned for Week 9's Best and Worst in a couple days.

*Images courtesy of Google Images*