After watching Maryland's thrilling victory over Navy on Labor Day, I saw a play that caught my eye and reminded me of two plays that happened in the past years in college football. It was a play that was the #1 top play on Tuesday's Sportscenter, and was the #3 play for best college football plays of the opening weekend.
The gameplan for the play was simple - stop Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs and his triple option offense at the goalline. Instead of tackling Dobbs, senior linebacker Adrian Moten pulled a Superman move, sacked Dobbs, and, because of this, startled Dobbs and caused him to fumble. Although Maryland punted on its ensuing possession, the play of the day was made by Moten.
This play reminded me of two similar plays in the past - the one by Roy Williams (the ex-Cowboy, not the current one) - and by ex-Redskin and Penn State alum LaVar Arrington.
Roy Williams
This play was better because:
a) The play was in the offense's own goal-line
b) The ball magically popped into the defensive lineman's hands
LaVar Arrington
This play was just, plain and simple: ferocious. It's like Goliath jumping on top of tiny David in the old tale between the two characters.
TJ Houshmandzadeh, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks and known for being a possession receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, has signed with the Baltimore Ravens for a one-year deal worth $855,000.
This deal allows the Ravens to become an even more dynamic team offensively, with probably the BEST offensive playmakers in the entire NFL! They signed WR Anquan Boldin in the offseason, then brought WR Donte Stallworth (who suffered an injury in the preseason and will miss the first two months of the regular season) and still have reliable wideout Derrick Mason and top three running back in the NFL in Ray Rice.
Name me one team who has better pass-catchers than the Baltimore Ravens:
I just saw one unbelievable play that occurred in college football today. East Carolina University was against Tulsa University - and boy, what a finish in this high-scoring affair!
ECU was trailing, 49-45, with five seconds left in the game. They had possession of the ball at the Tulsa 33 yard-line. It was fourth-down and ten, but a field goal was unnecessary. The ECU quarterback made a Doug Flutie-esque play... and, well, I'll let you see the finish:
(ECU is in purple)
Unbelievable way to start the opening game and season for ECU... I wonder what's in store for them this season.
As some of you may know, the last preseason game for all NFL teams was on Thursday, and the deadline to cut 20-some number of players was yesterday, at 6 PM EST. Teams after this final preseason game had 80+ players, and they had to trim their rosters down to 53 before Saturday in order to get ready for the regular season.
If you have been following my blog in early August (during training camp and before preseason games began), I made my own predictions on the final 53 men that will be playing with the Washington Redskins during the 2010-2011 season. Let's see my predictions:
(Bold indicates he made the team. strikethrough means the player got cut/traded/placed on IR. Italics are new players that made the team)
Quarterbacks
QB1: Donovan McNabb
QB2: Rex Grossman
QB3: Colt Brennan Received John Beck from Ravens in trade
Running Backs
RB1: Clinton Portis
RB2: Larry Johnson
RB3: Ryan Torain Placed on the Practice Squad; Keiland Williams made the team instead
Fullbacks
FB1: Mike Sellers
*FB2: Darrel Young*
I guess they wanted a good backup and blocking fullback in case Sellers goes down.
Tight Ends
TE1: Chris Cooley
TE2: Fred Davis
TE3: Dennis Morris cut; Logan Paulson made the team
Wide Receivers
WR1: Santana Moss
WR2: Devin Thomas
WR3: Joey Galloway
WR4: Malcolm Kelly Placed on IR w/ recurring hamstring injury; Anthony Armstrong made the team
*WR5: Roydell Williams*
*WR6: Brandon Banks* Made the team as a Punt Returner
Offensive Line
LT1: Trent Williams
LT2: Will Robinson Placed on Practice Squad; Kory Lichtensteiger made the team
LG1: Edwin Williams Cut
LG2: Derrick Dockery
C1: Casey Rabach
RG1: Artis Hicks
RG2: Chad Rinehart Cut; Will Montgomery made the team
RT1: Jammal Brown
RT2: Stephon Heyer
Left Defensive End
L DE1: Adam Carriker
L DE2: Philip Daniels
L DE3: Vonnie Holliday
Nose Tackle
NT1: Maake Kemoeatu
NT2: Albert Haynesworth
NT3: Anthony Bryant
Right Defensive End
R DE1: Kedric Golston
R DE2: Jeremy Jarmon
R DE3: Darrion Scott Cut
Left Outside Linebacker
L OLB1: Brian Orakpo
L OLB2: Chris Wilson
L OLB3: Curtis Gatewood
Left Inside Linebacker
L ILB1: London Fletcher
L ILB2: H.B. Blades
L ILB3: Perry Riley
Right Inside Linebacker
R ILB1: Rocky McIntosh
R ILB2: Chris Draft Cut
R ILB3: Robert Henson Cut; Could've been placed on IR
Right Outside Linebacker
R OLB1: Andre Carter
R OLB2: Lorenzo Alexander
R OLB3: Rob Jackson Cut; But WILL be on the practice squad
Left Cornerback
L CB1: Carlos Rodgers
L CB2: Kevin Barnes
L CB3: Philip Buchanon
Right Cornerback
R CB1: DeAngelo Hall
R CB2: Justin Tryon Traded to the Colts for a future draft pick
R CB3: Byron Westbrook
Strong Safely
SS 1: LaRon Landry
SS 2: Kareem Moore On the team, but is out for 6 weeks due to injury;
Free Safety
FS 1: Chris Horton
FS 2: Reed Doughty
Kicker
Graham Cano
Punter
Josh Bidwell
Long Snapper
Nick Sundberg
Kick Returner/Punt Returner
Santana Moss/DeAngelo HallTBA/Brandon Banks
So, I was 37/53 (barely a 'C'). Okay, but not great. Here's the breakdown by position:
Quarterback: 2 for 3
Running Back: 2 for 3
Full back: 1 for 2
Tight Ends: 2 for 3
Wide Receivers: 3 for 6
Offensive Line: 6 for 9
Defensive Line: 8 for 9
Linebackers: 8 for 12
Safeties: 4 for 4
Special Teams: 3 for 5
Average, at best, I must say. But who is ready for Sunday Night Football? Only 7 more days!
Nyjer Morgan, the speedy centerfielder for the Washington Nationals, got himself into a heap of trouble tonight. The Nationals were playing the Florida Marlins and were down 15-4 in the fourth inning, when Morgan got hit by a pitch by starting pitcher Chris Volstad. Instead of casually playing the rest of the inning, the feisty Morgan stole second base, then ALSO stole third base in a 11-run blowout.
A Washington Nationals fan on WashingtonPost.com said it best:
"The Fish announcers are complaining that Morgan stole bases after getting plunked the first time. Oh no!
It was the fifth inning! If one team can score 15 runs in four innings, the other one can. If you don't want him to steal bases, throw him out. One more reason to despise that franchise."
Fast-forward to the top of the sixth inning. The first pitch Morgan saw was a fastball behind him, which REALLY got him pissed-off. After a second, he charges the mound, and he and Chris Volstad throw connecting punches at each other. First baseman Gaby Sanchez (Marlins) comes charging in and completely levels Morgan, who is still throwing punches.
Take a look:
Unbelievable. Morgan will easily be suspended for 7 games, if not, more, for his actions tonight (especially cursing the crowd after his ejection). Volstad will probably get a 5 game suspension, and Sanchez possibly 3 games.
My prediction of a seven-game suspension would be added onto the past seven-game suspension he got because he was involved in another incident last month.
We shall see the end results by the end of the week.
Update (9.3.10): Morgan has been suspended for 8 games. Volstad has been suspended for 6 games. Gaby Sanchez has been suspended for 3 games.
I was right on the money on the Sanchez suspension, but was one game off for both Morgan and Volstad. How is that for accuracy?
Aroldis Chapman, welcome to the Big Leagues! Chapman is a rookie pitcher for the Reds (similar to Stephen Strasburg) and made his Major League debut as a relief pitcher last night against the Milwaukee Brewers.
He has unbelievable stuff, with his fastest pitch clocking at 103 mph! His slowest fastball in one inning of work was 99 mph, and repeatedly went into triple digits.
Take a look:
(Click on the picture below if you cannot see the above video)
The Reds will probably preserve him for the 2011 season, using him as a relief pitcher in the playoffs and as a starting pitcher next season, much like how the Tampa Bay Rays treated their starting ace pitcher David Price last season and this season.
Hopefully, his arm won't fall off like Strasburg's did this season...
