NFL Free Agency Signings: NFC East

NFL Free Agency started up on Tuesday afternoon, and several teams have been making franchise changing moves.  Here is a list of some of the top free agent pick ups from the NFC East
Dallas Cowboys:
Brandon Carr CB
Brodney Pool S
Kyle Orton QB
Dan Connor LB
Mackenzy Bernadeau OL
Lawrence Vickers FB
Nate Livings OL

Analysis: I believe that the Cowboys have been addressing a majority of their team needs through free agency.  They first signed a corner back, Brandon Carr.  They needed to do this because they had released Terrance Newman, and were in need of a new #1 CB.  The Cowboys also made other moves.  They Added former Jets Safety Brodney Pool to address their secondary.  The secondary was a big issue last year, and they addressed it by not only adding a Cornerback, but also adding the safety.  After, the Cowboys added backer Dan Conner to pair with Sean Lee.  One move that the Cowboys made that I was not impressed with was the signing of Kyle Orton to back up Tony Romo.  There were other QB's available who are better than Kyle Orton, but they settled on him.  The Cowboys also inproved their offensive line by adding Mackenzy Bernadeau to be a Guard.  Unable to resign Tony Fiametta, the Cowboys went out and signed Lawrence Vickers from the Texans.  It is obvious that Dallas is trying to improve their Offensive Line, and their Defense.  Earlier today, Dallas announced that they had signed another offensive lineman in Nate Livings, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals the last 4 years.  


New York Giants:
Martellus Bennett TE
Michael Coe CB
Justin Tryon CB
David Carr QB


Analysis:  The Giants did not sign too many big name players so far during the 2012 free agency.  They signed former back up Tight End Martellus Bennett from the Dallas Cowboys.  Martellus Bennett was not one of the Cowboys best players on the team, as he had problems catching the football at times. They also resigned 2 Cornerbacks who were on the team last year as well.  These CB's, however, did not start for them.  The Super Bowl Champion Giants did not make any big name signings so far during this free agency period.

Philadelphia Eagles:
Antonio Dixon DT
Mike Gibson OG
DeSean Jackson WR

Analysis:  Like the Giants, the Eagles did not sign any new big name players to deals.  The Eagles, however, did resign star Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson to a long term deal.  The Eagles "Dream Team" from last year needs to draft a linebacker in order to compete this year.  They also need to focus on not losing too many games, which they did last year.   The Eagles did sign an offensive lineman, in order to help add some depth on the team.   They also added Antonio Dixon to buff up that D-Line, but no MAJOR names were Added.

Washington Redskins:
Traded 3 Draft Picks for #2 Overall Pick
Pierre Garcon WR
Josh Morgan WR
Adam Carriker DE

Analysis:  The Redskins are definitely trying to improve their team this year.  With needing help at the receiver position, the Redskins signed wide out Pierre Garcon from the Colts, and Josh Morgan from the 49ers to help rookie QB Robert Griffin III, who will be taken second in the 2012 NFL Draft.  The Redskins also added DE Adam Carriker to help out that defensive front.  The Redskins are attempting to become competitive again, just like the Cowboys are trying.  They will have a new offensive look, with a new QB and 2 new receivers.  Look for the Redskins to continue to add big name players as they continue to attempt to become competitive again.

Tebow Time Again, This Time In The Playoffs!

The Denver Broncos just defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in an overtime thriller last night.  The Broncos were off to a slow start after trailing 6-0 in the 1st quarter, but once their offense started, there was no turning back for Tim Tebow (Florida) and the Broncos.  The Broncos quickly went up 7-6 and then shortly after 14-6.  It seemed as if noone could stop Tebow.  Tim Tebow has been receiving a lot of criticism lately.  People have been saying that he can not throw the ball, and also that he should be a running back or tight end.  Tim Tebow just proved all of those people to be wrong.  Tebow was 10-21 with 3 combined touchdowns, and one rushing.  Tebow completed an 80 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demaryious Thomas (Georgia Tech) to end the game and silenced all of the haters. Thomas had 4 receptions for 204 yards and 1 touchdown. The Broncos now travel up to New England to face the Patriots and their former coach Josh McDaniels.  This is Josh McDaniels first game back as Offensive Coordinator of the Patriots, because their former Coordinator went to Penn State to be the head coach of their football team. 

In other news, the New York Giants defeated the Atlanta falcons 24-2 yesterday afternoon.  The Giants Defense held the Falcons to 0 points on offense, while the Falcons Defense gave up 24 points.  The only way the Falcons got points was off of a New York Giants Safety.  Top performers on the Giants were Hakeem Nicks (North Carolina) with 6 catches for 115 yards and 2 TDs.  The Giants continue their strong run and travel up to Green Bay to face Aaron Rodgers (California) and the Packers. 

NBA, Players, Owners Reach Tentative Deal

The NBA Owners and Players met on Friday, November 25th to try and come up with an agreement to save the 2011-2012 NBA Season.  That they did.  After meeting for 15 hours on Friday, from 12 Noon until approximately 3 AM, the owners and players were ready to announce that they had finally reached an agreement, ending a 149 day lockout.  Both sides did not release many details about the deal just yet, but everyone seemed very optimistic about everything. However, the owners and players felt as if they felt as if they did their job right.  The deal now just has to be voted on by both sides in order for it to be official.  15 out of 29 owners need to vote yes for this to happen.  As for the players, they need a majority of the vote, as they have many.  It seems as if a majority of the players and owners were very relieved and excited about the lockout finally being over.  Star player Dwayne Wade commented on the deal by simply saying "All I feel right now is Finally." What he means by that is after all of the time off from basketball, he can finally be re united with his teammates and begin to start training camps as early as December 9th.  The NBA Lockout was actually longer than the NFL Lockout, which was 127 days.  The NBA's was 149 days.  The first games will begin on December 25th, Christmas Day, and there will be a triple header that day as well.  The Games that are expected to be played are the Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks, an NBA Finals rematch between Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks, and also the Chicago Bulls vs the Los Angeles Lakers.  These matchups all seem very interesting, as everyone awaits Christmas day, which is only 29 days away from today.  I am looking forward to those games, as well as the rest of the season.  All I can say is I hope the Spurs can actually win a championship this year!!  Best of luck to the Spurs, and the rest of the NBA in what should be an exciting 2011-2012 season.

Star Running Back Peterson Injured

Vikings Starting Running Back Adrian Peterson suffered an Ankle Sprain on Sunday.  As things were getting worse and worse for the Minnesota Vikings, a big problem occurred.  Star running back Adrian Peterson injured his ankle.   Peterson was the one man that the Vikings could always rely on to be the big performer.  With his injury, it is un-determined how long he will be out for.   With Peterson out, the Vikings will turn to young running back Toby Gerhart to perform the lead role duties.  Gerhart had a successful college career, in which he won the offensive player of the year award, and he was also one of the five finalists in the Heisman trophy voting in 2009.   Peterson & the Vikings are hoping that he will be able to play again within the coming weeks, as he is fewer than 200 yards away from becoming the Vikings all time leading rusher.  However, if the Vikings lose him for an extended period of time, you could say that the Vikings have little to no chance at wnning any more games this season.  Hopefully Peterson can play through the pain and break the all time leading rusher's record at some point this season.  Peterson did have X-Rays on the ankle, and they came out negative, which is a good news for the Vikings, as there is some hope to get him back on the field sooner than expected.  Good luck to the Vikings for the rest of the season, and best of luck to Peterson as he tries to have a speedy recovery, so that he can return to the field and help his team win a few more games this season.

The Madden Curse Strikes Again!

The Madden Curse is one of the most controversial superstitions in sports.  Every year, it seems as if whoever the cover athlete on the latest Madden game is stricken with a curse and either has an injury that season or just has a poor year.
 It all began back in the year 1999, the first year someone other than John Madden was on the cover of a Madden Football game.  The 1st cover athlete was Garrison Hearst, the running back of the 49ers.  The year he was put on the cover, he broke his ankle.  This was just a coincidence, since it was only the 1st year and there was no previous history of a curse or anything.     The cover athlete on the Madden 2000 game was Barry Sanders. Sanders himself did not particularly have an injury, however, he had retired before the season, and his replacement was Dorsey Levans.  Sure enough, Levans was injured too.  The curse lived on after 2 consecutive years of injuries.  The cover athlete of the Madden 2001 game was Eddie George.  He did not have any injuries or anything, however, when the Titans needed him the most, he fumbled the ball and blew the Titans chances for a super bowl. Coincidence? 2002, Daunte Culpepper, Quarterback of the Vikings, had a 4-7 record, and had a season ending knee injury on top of it all.  The 2003 Madden Cover athlete was Marshall Faulk, running back of the Rams, also known as The Greatest Show On Turf.  He also had a knee injury that was interfering with his season.  After 5 years of miss fourtine, you would think that something is going on here.  Well, lets continue and try to find someone who broke the curse. The 2004 cover athlete of Madden was Michael Vick, QB of the Atlanta Falcons.  About a day after the Madden Game was released, Vick broke his fibula and was out for 11 games because of it. Madden 2005's cover athlete was star defensive player Ray Lewis.  Lewis had broken his wrist that season, only adding to the list.  Madden 06 had Donovan McNabb, QB of the Eagles, as the cover athlete.  McNabb, one of the top quarterbacks at the time, had a sports hernia, and missed 7 games that season.  The cover athlete of the Madden 2007 video game was Shaun Alexander, Running Back of the Seattle Seahawks.  Alexander was struck with the curse by having a foot fracture and missed 6 games. Vince Young was the 2008 cover man, and sure enough, another name was added to the list of people affected by the curse.  QB Young had injured his quad, and it affected his scrambling, in which he was really great at.  In 2009 Brett Favre was put on the cover of Madden.  Favre had an injured bicep at the end of the season, and it made him lose 4 out of the last 5 games.  The next year was interesting.  EA Sports tried something different, by putting 2 people on the cover of the Madden game.  This however, failed.  Larry Fitzgerald injured his rib in the playoffs with the Cardinals, and Troy Polamalu had  multiple knee injuries through out the season.  Madden 2011's cover athlete was super bowl winning Quarterback Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints.  Brees did not have an injury, but his team had the biggest upset loss in playoff history.  The Saints had lost to the Seattle Seahawks, who had barely made it into the playoffs; and were clearly the underdogs here.  The Seahawks took control and won the game, stunning Brees and the Saints.  The 2012 cover athlete of Madden is Peyton Hillis.  Hillis has been injured for the most part of the season, and even the runner up to the Madden cover athlete voting, Michael Vick, is also dealing with injuries as well.  The Madden curse still lives on!

As you can see, the Madden curse is no joke.  here is the list of players and their injuries:
1999. Garrison Hearst - Broke Ankle
2000. Barry Sanders - Retired, Backup had an injury
2001. Eddie George - No Injuries, Fumbled the ball and ruining the Titans Chances at victory in the Playoffs
2002. Daunte Culpepper - Knee Injury
2003. Marshall Faulk - Knee Injury
2004. Michael Vick - Broken Fibula
2005. Ray Lewis - Broken Wrist
2006. Donovan McNabb - Sports Hernia
2007. Shaun Alexander - Fractured Foot
2008. Vince Young - Quad Injury
2009. Brett Favre - Bicep Injury
2010. Troy Polamalu/Larry Fitzgerald - Knee Injuries/Rib Injury
2011. Drew Brees - Had biggest upset lost in recent memory
2012. Peyton Hillis - Hamstring

As you can see, the Madden curse has effected just about every single cover athlete to ever be on any Madden game.  If you were ever asked to be put on a Madden cover, I would think twice before Accepting that offer, because you could have an injury that could cost your season. And if you don't believe in the Madden curse, just look at the list.  I'm sure you will believe it now!

NFC East Rivals Collide

Rivalries are always the most entertaining games to watch.  You can feel the tension between the two teams as they play each other. The Dallas Cowboys are Playing the Washington Redskinsthis Sunday.  The first time these two teams met, the rivalry was so intense that there was only one touchdown scored in the entire game! There was a total of 6 field goals by the Dallas Cowboys, who in recent history have been struggling to find a consistant kicker. (Nick Folk, David Beuhler, etc.) However, with all that aside, both of these teams have been playing differently than they were all those weeks ago.  The Dallas Cowboys have recently been red hot; their offense has been clicking, and it seems whenever Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois) does not turn the ball over more than 2 times, the Cowboys can easily get their win.  The Washington Redskins, however, have been all downhill ever since starting 2 and 0.  They have won only 1 game and their record now is 3-6.  They have tried benching QB Rex Grossman (Florida), and starting John Beck (BYU), but that did not work out as Beck was not scoring any points for the Skins. The Dallas Cowboys are looking to stay hot going into this game, and for the rest of the season.  If the Cowboys do pull off the victory, then it will be one of the best in recent memory for the 'Boys.  Look for the Cowboys to use their 2 headed rushing attackDeMarco Murray (Oklahoma) and with solid RB Felix Jones (Arkansas) as the backup to run over the Redskins.  However, if the Redskins can somehow find a way to stop the run game, and get a few turnovers, then they can find a way to end their losing skid and stop the Cowboys' surge. 

Rookie Murray Shines for the Cowboys

In the third round of the 2011 draft, the Dallas Cowboysshocked several people by drafting Running BackDeMarco Murray (Oklahoma) in the third round.  People were questioning this pick.  However, several weeks after the draft, the Cowboys decided to let veteran starting running back Marion Barber (Minnesota) go.  This moved Murray up on the depth chart, giving him a few chances to shine.  Still after being 3rd on the Dallas Cowboysdepth chart at one time, DeMarco still caught Jerry Joneseye by his explosiveness. Felix Jones however, has always had injury problems in the past, and to noone's surprise he was injured again this year (Ankle) A few weeks into the season, the Cowboys decided to cut young running back Tashard Choice, after seeing poor performances from him in several games.  In mid October, DeMarco Murray really had the chance to shine.  His break out performance came vs the St. Louis Rams.  On the very first play of the game, Murray ran for a 91 yard touchdown.  This was only the beginning.  Before this, the Cowboys had not had a 100 yard rusher in several years! Murray, with just one run, was only 9 yards away.  Murray had an absolutely amazing performance that game, racking up a total of 253 rushing yards! Ever since then, Murray has been rushing for 100 yards a game in 3 out of the last 4 games!  With these performances, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and head coach Jason Garrett decided it was time for a change in true starting running backs, and went with Murray to be the starter for the rest of the season.  This was a great choice by Jerry Jones as Felix Jones has only been an injury nightmare to the Cowboys, and Murray has young, fresh legs & can rush for over 100 yards a game with touchdowns!  I am really looking forward for the rest of the Cowboys season, and can not wait to see what young rookie Murray can do once he reaches his full potential.