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motife
12-19-2007, 05:17 PM
http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/Features/They+Said+It/2007/said121707.htm

Bears head coach Lovie Smith, quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times, won’t concede to QB Kyle Orton as his starter, following a disappointing effort against the Vikings: “We'll play the guys that give us the best opportunity to win. We're not announcing any starting players, period. Hopefully I'm making that clear. Offensively, we didn't get a lot done. We didn't get enough production. We had some opportunities, had great field position. We had some plays that we left out on the field, especially in the passing game. That's discouraging.”

As quoted in the Houston Chronicle, Texans MLB DeMeco Ryans characterizes his selection to the Pro Bowl as: “… redemption (for) a lot of criticism about me not being big enough coming into the league or not being the fastest guy. You can't measure being a true football player. And that's what I am: just a true football player who loves the game.”

Echoing QB Peyton Manning’s sentiments, Colts head coach Tony Dungy will allot enough playing time for the starters to remain sharp heading into the playoffs, as quoted in The Indianapolis Star: “I think it is important. We've got some guys who do need to play, and we need to continue to get sharper. That's my thought right now — that we'll get those guys a lot of playing time, at least this week.”

Redskins LB H.B. Blades, quoted in The Washington Post, is confident in his ability to replace the injured Rocky McIntosh: “I have to step up a little bit more now. I'm so used to being a backup, and now I have to play a more significant role, so I have to come in and do the extra things to not let this team down and to not let these veterans down. … When Rocky went down, I just said to myself, 'Well, it's time to step in and play and show everybody I can play football.' Now, I'm looking forward to going in [against Minnesota] and contributing and playing the best football I've ever played.”

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007

Panthers DT Kris Jenkins, quoted in The Charlotte Observer, is impressed with QB Matt Moore, following the undrafted free agent’s mistake-free first start in victory over the Seahawks: “I think everybody played great, especially (No.) 3. That little boy right there ... I can't say little boy. He's a grown man. But, oh my gosh, that's what you look for in a quarterback.”

Lions head coach Rod Marinelli, quoted in the Detroit Free Press, accepts blame for the team’s six consecutive losses, refusing to implicate his players: “I always go right back to the teacher. These are the students we have. And what I look at is, what concerns me at times, is we’re teaching this, we’re going through it and we’re repping it and then it’s not talent fitting your gap or getting the penetration. It’s not talent hitting the gap properly, spilling the wall properly. It’s about knowing what to do.”

Eagles CB Lito Sheppard elaborates on a game plan that limited Cowboys WR Terrell Owens to two receptions for 37 yards in a game the Eagles ultimately won 10-6, as quoted in The Dallas Morning News: “I wanted to get a good jam, and we worked on getting him inside most of the time. When he releases outside, it makes it tough for the safety to get over the top. As long as we got a pretty good jam and got him inside, we felt pretty good about what we could do.”

Unlike odds makers, Patriots CB Ellis Hobbs wasn’t expecting a blow out victory over the Jets, as quoted in The Boston Globe: “This is the NFL. The worst thing you're doing [with that] is giving the other team motivation because you're basically calling them chumps. These are NFL players, professionals who get paid, that have pride about themselves. We expected a tough game. We understood what type of game it was going to be, and we just went out there and executed our game plan.”

motife
12-19-2007, 05:20 PM
http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/Features/Rookie+of+the+Year+Meter/2007/rookie121807.htm

Rookie of the Year Meter
Willis and Peterson have rookie honors just about wrapped up

By Matt Sohn
Dec. 18, 2007


With just two weeks left in the season, it would take an incredible turn of events for Patrick Willis to not end up Defensive Rookie of the Year and for Adrian Peterson to not earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. However, Peterson, in particular, shouldn’t win in a landslide. Joe Thomas, Cleveland’s dominating left tackle, has been sensational. And unlike Peterson, he has stayed healthy all season. Right or wrong, the reality is OROY is an honor usually reserved for a skill-position player, and in 2007, no offensive rookie comes close to matching the skills of Peterson.

1. 49ers LB Patrick Willis
Season stats (14 games): 142 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble
Week 15 stats: six tackles
Last week’s ranking: 1
Stock: Steady
Willis helped ensure that if the Bengals moved the ball, it would have to be through the air. Even with a relatively healthy Rudi Johnson in the backfield, Cincinnati had a long run of just nine yards.

2. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson
Season stats (12 games): 218 carries for 1,278 yards and 12 touchdowns, 17 receptions for 247 yards and one touchdown, three lost fumbles
Week 15 stats: 20 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns, one reception for 17 yards
Last week’s ranking: 2
Stock: Steady
Peterson didn’t rip the soul out of the Bears the way he did earlier in the season at Soldier Field, but he still had a very good game by normal RB standards. Unfortunately for him, we have come to expect so much from him that anything less than phenomenal is considered disappointing. Look no further than his fourth-quarter, 28-yard run last night. After turning the corner and jetting into the open field, he was finally dragged down by the combined efforts of CB Charles Tillman and OLB Jamar Williams — two players who clearly had the angle on him. Yet that didn’t stop Ron Jaworski, a straight-shooting commentator not prone to hyperbole, from stating how he was almost surprised Peterson wasn’t able to outrun the two defenders for what would have been a 98-yard touchdown.

3. Browns OT Joe Thomas
Last week’s ranking: 5
Stock: Steady
Thomas has given up a few sacks recently to speed rushers — this past Sunday, it was Bills DE Aaron Schobel — but that’s about all he did wrong. With the Browns making a concerted effort to pound the ball in the Cleveland snowstorm, Thomas once again dominated in the running game. RB Jamal Lewis is rightfully being praised for the team’s ground-game proficiency, but an offensive line quickly developing into one of the league’s best can’t be overlooked.

4. Jets CB Darrelle Revis
Season stats (14 games): 80 tackles, three interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery
Week 15 stats: five tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery
Last week’s ranking: 6
Stock: Rising
While the inclement weather conditions in Foxborough didn’t hurt his cause, Revis held Randy Moss mostly in check. From a physical standpoint, he’s already among the elite cornerbacks in the league. Yet he doesn’t get the credit he deserves for his precocious instincts. On his interception, he read Tom Brady perfectly, jumping Moss’ route before Moss made a break on it.

5. Jets LB David Harris
Season stats (14 games): 108 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery
Week 15 stats: seven tackles
Last week’s ranking: 3
Stock: Steady
Don’t be misled by the fact that New England rushed for 131 yards. It took 35 carries to get there. As has been the case since entering the starting lineup, Harris was a rock in the middle. His stonewalling of RB Laurence Maroney at the 1-yard line to prevent a touchdown was a thing of beauty.

6. Panthers LB Jonathan Beason
Season stats (14 games): 118 tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery
Week 15 stats: eight tackles
Last week’s ranking: 4
Stock: Steady
Beason has been tremendous as the “Mike” linebacker in the Panthers’ traditional 4-3 scheme. But with the front four doing a dismal job of generating any semblance of a pass rush, it’s surprising Beason isn’t given the green light to go after the quarterback. With his closing ability, he would seem to be an ideal blitzer.

7. Dolphins C Samson Satele
Last week’s ranking: 7
Stock: Steady
The irony is that despite playing his college ball in June Jones’ spread offense at Hawaii, Satele is a more proficient run blocker than he is pass protector. He was a bit shaky in the Dolphins’ win over the Ravens, but was hardly a liability. Give him credit for being the heartbeat of the offensive line since Week One.

8. Redskins S LaRon Landry
Season stats (14 games): 87 tackles, 1½ sacks, one fumble recovery
Week 15 stats: three tackles
Last week’s ranking: 9
Stock: Steady
In a secondary that has battled through injury and tragedy, Landry has been a constant. In Sunday’s win over the Giants, he helped limit Eli Manning to a miserable 18-of-52 passing.

9. Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe
Season stats (14 games): 61 receptions for 885 yards and four touchdowns
Week 15 stats: five receptions for 64 yards
Last week’s ranking: 8
Stock: Steady
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that Brodie Croyle may not have what it takes to be a starting quarterback in this league. Subsequently, Bowe has only scratched the surface of what he can become. He did what he could against the Titans, but the guy needs somebody better to get him the ball.

10. Bills RB Marshawn Lynch
Season stats (11 games): 240 carries for 940 yards and six touchdowns, 15 receptions for 120 yards, one lost fumble
Week 15 stats: 21 carries for 82 yards
Last week’s ranking: 10
Stock: Steady
As the kid from California found out, playing in Cleveland in December is no day at the beach. Lynch was serviceable but inspiring on Sunday, running for 82 yards against one of the league’s worst run defenses. And it still bears questioning — probably more so for offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild: Why hasn’t Lynch been involved in the passing game?

Honorable mention (In no particular order)

Bills QB Trent Edwards: Hard to get much going in the Cleveland snow.

Texans DT Amobi Okoye: Nice job of helping shut down the Broncos’ running game.

Buccaneers S Tanard Jackson: Numbers are going down, but still a key member of a resurgent defense.

Giants CB Aaron Ross: Needs to kick his game up if the Giants are to make a run in the postseason.

Bengals CB Leon Hall: Big-play machine needs to be more consistent.

Chargers S Eric Weddle: Overshadowed by flashier players in the Chargers’ secondary.

Colts DT Ed Johnson: Undrafted player has started all 14 games.

Jaguars S Reggie Nelson: Made plays all over Heinz Field on Sunday.

Lions WR Calvin Johnson: One of the few Lions players who bothered to showed up vs. the Bolts.

Ravens OG Ben Grubbs: Keeps plugging along through team’s trying season.

Best of the rest (In no particular order)

Broncos RB Selvin Young
Bears TE Greg Olsen
Buccaneers OG Arron Sears
Packers WR James Jones
Cowboys OLB Anthony Spencer
Vikings DE Brian Robison
Cowboys PK Nick Folk
Vikings WR Sidney Rice
Lions S Gerald Alexander
Raiders TE Zach Miller

motife
12-19-2007, 05:21 PM
http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/Features/MVP+Meter/2007/mvp15.htm
Week 15 MVP Meter
Westbrook takes advantage of stars stumbling

By Eric Edholm
Dec. 18, 2007


For some, the weather stunk. Maybe defenses are catching up. Or perhaps it’s just one of those Sundays where some of the league’s better players just, well, struggled.

Tom Brady has had worse passing days. He had four picks against the Colts and had a miserable game against the Dolphins, both last season. But Sunday’s game was tough for Tom when you stack his numbers against what he has done all season. That’s about as bad as it gets.

Tony Romo was worse. The Eagles left two deep safeties, played physical man defense outside and pressured all day. It worked. Romo also had a sore thumb that affected his accuracy clearly. His girlfriend, who probably never watched a game before and asked some funny questions about the football men during it, now thinks she’s dating a stiff. That’s a bad day.

Brett Favre broke another of Dan Marino's records but threw two picks against the Rams. Peyton Manning threw for 276 yards against the Raiders but had a pick, three sacks and completed only 56 percent of his passes in a narrow win. Ben Roethlisberger and Willie Parker lost at home. Terrell Owens caught two passes and started yelling.

What’s going on here?

Well, we salute you, Brian Westbrook. No, you didn’t score a touchdown, but you did something far better. You didn’t score a touchdown. Sure, give the credit to Jon Runyan, who gave you the heads up about the clock and the Cowboys’ timeout situation, but you did it. You stopped short of the endzone on your own, and for that you make a big jump — as big as you can make this late in the game — in the rankings.

It appears to be just one of those weeks league-wide. Romo’s thumb is fine, and Brady is sure to punish the Dolphins some more on Sunday. T.O. probably will be fine, and the Steelers face the Rams on Thursday. Natural order is bound to be restored. But for one Sunday, it was tough to be a star in the hunt for the MVP.

1. Patriots QB Tom Brady — Also suffered from a concerted running attack.

2. Packers QB Brett Favre — If you’re running a route and you’re open, Favre will throw you the ball.

3. Cowboys QB Tony Romo — Keep the ladies at home.

4. Colts QB Peyton Manning — Boy, Anthony Gonzalez is a different player than he was a month ago.

5. Eagles RB Brian Westbrook — And he’s doing it on a bad knee.

6. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger — Decent numbers but not enough when it counted.

7. Patriots WR Randy Moss — Jerry Rice's TD record looks tough to get now.

8. Cowboys WR Terrell Owens — He goes from hunky-dory to peeved in a wink.

9. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson — Good fourth-quarter running saved a slow start.

10. Saints QB Drew Brees — Has been money since the first four games.

Others worth mentioning: Jaguars QB David Garrard, Steelers RB Willie Parker, Colts RB Joseph Addai, Cowboys OLB DeMarcus Ware, Ravens RB Willis McGahee, Chiefs DE Jared Allen, Browns WR Braylon Edwards, Titans DT Albert Haynesworth, Browns QB Derek Anderson, Colts S Bob Sanders, Seahawks OLB Julian Peterson, Packers DE Aaron Kampman, Patriots CB Asante Samuel, Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald.