Yardbarker: Eric Barton

Monday Night Football Week Three Live-Blog: Jets-Chargers First Half

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:44:42 -0500

Well, it looks like L.T. is going to be limited tonight, so the Chargers are going to turn to the electric Darren "Pocket Hercules" Sproles to fill in. Not a bad replacement if you ask me. We're all hoping that ESPN at least tries to tone down the Favre talk tonight, but it doesn't seem likely as they've shown him walking into the stadium about seven times already. If you want to play the Favre mention imbibing game, don't let me stop you, but I think your liver will hate you in the morning.

The game kicks off at 8:30, so I'll see you around then for the live-blog.

"Win tonight, you've got the Raiders next week, and then you're 2 and 2."- Keyshawn Johnson
"Yeah that's nice. Christmas next week as the Raiders come to town."- Tom Jackson

How interesting is it that the chargers have had a dick announcing all their games so far? Stockton, Enberg and Kornheiser (Via Anon)

Haha....way to start things off on a good note, Anon. Oh and if you care there's a WNBA Playoff game on ESPN2 and DWTS starts tonight as well. It's certainly a packed night.

"That's more than discussing the new Mustang."- Chris Berman on Bill Ford Jr. wanting to fire Matt Millen.

Thomas Jones is definitely a beast, but do we really need the "Transformers" noise when they're showing him half naked? Just a thought.

"The good thing about being short is that everyone else is tall...."- Emmitt Smith

He did make a good point saying that you have leverage, but it still made me chuckle. Stu Scott also referred to Emmitt as not being the "tallest brother". Oh Stu....if only Mary Kate was around to see you now!

So can someone tell me why ESPN just aired a "Two and a Half Men" promo when it airs on CBS against Monday Night Football? Just curious because that seems like a bad idea to me.

Picks:
Ditka- Jets
Keyshawn- Chargers
Cris Carter- Chargers
Tom Jackson- Jets
Berman- Chargers
Steve Young- Chargers
Emmitt- Chargers
Stu- Chargers

Why do we care who Stu Scott thinks will win? (Via Anon)

Very good question.

"Pick a guy, let it fly. Playoff bound. The Jets ain't going, if Brett ain't throwin'"- Cris Carter

That was poetic. Let's start this thing....
__________________________________

8:30- It's game time folks. If anyone is playing the "Brett Mention Drinking Game" raise your hands now, so I know who'll be the drunk as hell after the first series of the game.

"Brett Favre, he was his old, but he wants to beat his brains out tonight."- Tony Kornheiser

Really? That seems a little harsh. Kickoff coming up after the break.

"This could be Brett Favre's last Monday Night game."- Mike Tirico

Oh god. Tony is doing a Cosell impression. Unbelievable. I still love the helmets clashing though. Here we go.....Jets ball to start it.

8:40- Leon Washington is popped on the kickoff and it will be Jet ball from the 23 yard line. Favre to Cotchery for five on first down is followed up by a screen to Jones that picks up a first down. Nice play recognizing the blitz there. Jones with the run for about seven.

"Jets moving the ball on San Diego, and what else is new?"- Mike Tirico

First incompletion for Favre and it's 3rd and 4....Play action....overthrown. Jets punt it away.

Can we start a fake laugh count for Tony's jokes? (Via Anon)

Sure! Great idea.

"GO CHA-GAHS!" - Tony Kornheiser doing a Schwarzenegger impression (Via SS)

8:47- San Diego's offense doesn't look very exciting early on, and.......

Right on cue! Rivers is picked of and that's six for the Jets. David Barrett with the INT and the return.

7-0 Jets.

Tony says it's a horrible start and I think that's the understatement of the year.

"They have so many toe injuries on this team that I assume they must practice barefoot and step on their toes" - Tony Kornheiser (Via JFein)

I don't even know what that's supposed to mean.

8:54- Chargers back with the ball again and LT picks up a few yards on first down. Rivers almost picked again and he is just throwing to the Jets at this point. 3rd and 8....

Got it to Buster Davis. First down. Rivers going deep! Great play by Lowry catching up to Vincent Jackson and knocking it down. Second down goes nowhere and it's third and long again for the Chargers....

Tell Rivers that his team is the blue team. (Via Anon)

Well he finds the blue team, and Buster Davis again, and picks up another first down. Same exact play as before. 1st down Chargers. Sproles for two yards but Jackson fights for a first down on the next play.

"Really good job by Phillip Rivers."- Ron Jaworski
"So you feel better about him now than you did 45 seconds ago?"- Tony Kornheiser

Tomlinson with another carry and it'll be third and short....incomplete as Rivers scrambles. Kaeding will come on for a FG attempt....

Good. 7-3 Jets with 5:40 left in the first.

There's only one "LT" and his name is Lawrence Taylor. (Via Anon)

True, but it makes it much easier typing to just call him LT. I'll be wary of this going forward though.

9:04- Jets ball from the 27 and Favre hits the rookie Keller for a medium gain. Interesting.....ESPN still hasn't fixed the down and distance graphic, but they've gotten rid of the player intros.

Oh man. Cromartie drops a sure pick six and he was heading downfield before securing the ball. Thomas Jones up the middle and FUMBLE! Picked up by Jammer and he gets it inside the 20 of the Jets. Great strip there.

Where is Hochuli? Wasn't that Thomas Jones throwing an incomplete pass? (Via Mal)

Tomlinson gets a short run and then absolutely wholloped by Eric Barton on second down. 3rd and 7 and Rivers hits Davis running across the field yet again. First down. Whoa....Rivers fumbles the snap but almost runs it in following the gaff. 2nd and Goal....

TOUCHDOWN Chargers! Rivers to Tolbert on a great play action and that's just what they needed. 10-7 Chargers.

9:15- Five yards for Leon Washington on first down and Favre follows it up with a strike across the middle. The draw doesn't go anywhere from midfield and that's the quarter....

10-7 Chargers after one.

Make that 17-7.....Favre throws one to Coles that is fought for by Cromartie and he takes it back for six. That was quick.

"There's a downside. He throws a lot of interceptions."- Tony Kornheiser

Really? Wasn't aware of that. WOW! Now Leon Washington takes a kickoff all the way back inside the Jets five!!! Now we're playing. For some reason the Jets are still trying to run at the goal line. Second down.....

TOUCHDOWN! Favre to Coles and hopefully Laverneus can stop whining about Pennington being cut.

17-14 Chargers.

9:27- ONSIDE! No good, but definitely a good try.

OK - right after the KO return, the NY fans in the stands are holding up the letters "J-E-S-T". (Via Mal)
"J-E-S-T"??? (Via Anon)

Damn, I missed it. Someone will get the screengrab though. Too funny.

S2N should negotiate a deal to blog the Monday night games.......AA can't be getting all the fun. (Via SS)

Hey, he had all the great games last year. It's only fair.

LT goes nowhere on first down but picks up about eight yards on a second down screen. 3rd and 1....first down. LT right up the middle. Tomlinson again and I think we know

"It's too small to matter, but it becomes the Achilles heel of the foot."- Tony Kornheiser

I'm so confused, but luckily Rivers hits Chambers down the middle for six and we don't have to hear any awkward laughing or silence.

24-14 Chargers and we've got a shootout.

9:34- I have to say that while I'm not LOVING this broadcast, it's certainly less annoying than last week's. I think ESPN might have actually discovered that the less Kornheiser talks....the better.

Jets ball and Castillo goes down. That's not good for a struggling D. You know what is good for a struggling D though? Brett Favre throwing passes directly to your secondary! Another pick for the Chargers D and they take over at the 45.

"Whose fault is it in that case?" - Tony Kornheiser

Come on Tony, you're an analyst. Why don't you tell us? (Via JFein)

Because he knows nothing about Football. 7 minutes to go and the Chargers offense is just chipping away at the Jets. 2nd and 4 and Sproles picks up a first.

"I'm not sure you can overstate this....they're 0-2."- Tony Kornheiser

If you have to preface a statement with that, then you already have. Rivers hits Tolbert over the middle and it'll be 3rd and short with 5 minutes to go. Timeout Chargers.

"We've head a penalty free first half to this point."- Mike Tirico
(about a 20 second pause)
"Well that's good."- Ron Jaworski
"Thank you for that."- Tony Kornheiser
"You like that in depth analysis?"- Ron Jaworski

TOUCHDOWN CHARGERS! Rivers to Gates and this one is getting ugly....

31-14 Chargers with 3:17 left.

9:53- Leon Washington again with a nice return and the Jets will get it at midfield. TJ gets about eight on the draw and Favre follows that up with a pass to Cotchery for the first down. 1st and 10 from the Charger 33 yard line. Favre hit Cotch again and that's the two minute warning. A penalty sends the Jets backwards and it's 2nd and 11...

Favre on the scramble and he slides after a three yard gain. Boy he just looked like a kid there didn't he? 3rd and 9....BLITZ! Sack and that hurts as Favre is dragged down out of field goal range. The Jets punt and it's downed inside the five. That'll probably do it for the half unless Norv wants to run it up....

31-14 Chargers at the Half. I'll see you in a new thread to start the second.

I’m Back, He’s Gone

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:05:03 -0500

Well after a two week vacation, I am back at the reins of blogging here at Lombardi Ave. Let me tell you, a missed a hell of a few weeks while I was out. I really don't know where to start, but I'll do my best. Brett Favre is gone. To the New York Jets. With the way ESPN was sucking the teet of this story, I just wanted Brett to get traded to end the madness. I remember pushing the Packers to trade Favre to the Jets in July. And I was right. With Favre in New York, Aaron Rodgers is officially the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. I'm still going to wish Favre the best in New York and I'll probably try to catch a few more Jets games than I would have. That being said, I am NOT becoming a Jets fan. I am NOT buying a Favre Jets jersey. Why not? Because I am a Packers fan. This whole controversy has divided the fans into Packers fans and Favre fans. The Favre fans wanted Brett in Green Bay and wanted him to start over Rodgers. Granted, some Packers fans wanted him to start. But these few did not use the "But he's Brett Favre!" excuse to have him start. I think Rodgers can lead the team to a ten-win season. I can hear the Favre fans jumping on the Jets bandwagon. This was an ugly affair, but nothing really comes that easy in the NFL. We all knew he would have somewhat of an "itch" to come back. I can safely say that I am glad he is gone and that the organization can move on. Now that Favre is in New York, the Jets have all of a sudden gone from pretenders to contenders. But are they really going to be able to make the playoffs in the AFC? I'm going to say no. First off, the AFC is crowded with teams with playoff potential. In the AFC East with the Jets, there are the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. The Bills are one of my sleeper teams for the 2008. They could definitely sneak into the playoffs in the wild-card. In the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns will duel for the division title and the AFC South has four teams that finished at or above .500 in 2007 and two wild-card teams in the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. As usual the Indianapolis Colts are in the driver's seat for that division while I could definitely see the Houston Texans overtaking the Titans in the division. As for the AFC West, the San Diego Chargers seem to have it under wraps, but never count out the Denver Broncos. There are eleven teams (including the Jets) that I just counted that have the potential to make the playoffs. It's crowded. The supporting cast around Favre in New York is remarkably different from the cast in Green Bay. The offensive line has young building blocks in D'Brickashaw Ferguson at left tackle and Nick Mangold at center. Alan Faneca and Damien Woody could fall under the classification of old and overpaid, but it is safe to say that Favre is playing behind a solid offensive line. In the backfield, Thomas Jones has not lived up to his potential in New York. He has hit the 1,000-yard mark multiple times, but he has split a lot of time with Leon Washington. Together they form a good combination, but neither of them have been able to match the support Favre got from Ryan Grant down the stretch last year. The wide receivers in New York are average as well. Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery are solid, but are totally different from the wide receivers Favre had in Green Bay. Favre had speed in Green Bay. Now he has to adjust to possession. With the speed receivers, Favre did not need as much protection from the offensive line as Donald Driver and Greg Jennings could get off of the line fast. Against a good bump-n-run defense that's putting pressure on him, Favre could have some trouble. Brad Smith does provide some speed, but fact is he is taking forever to develop into a wide receiver. Favre also has long-time Packers teammate Bubba Franks in New York, but there is a reason that the Packers let Bubba go. He's aging and his production has declined. He may be able to rejuvenate in New York along with Favre, but it is hard to tell. On the defensive side of the ball, the it is quite possible that the Jets could like total fools this year. The secondary is solid with Justin Miller, Darrelle Revis, and star safety Kerry Rhodes, while Eric Smith made four starts in 2007. The linebacking corps could have some questions. The Jets shipped Jonathan Vilma to the New Orleans Saints in the offseason, clearing the way for David Harris to take over in the middle. Eric Barton is aging somewhat in the middle with Harris while Vernon Gholston will push Bryan Thomas on the outside. The riskiest linebacker signing in the offseason was Calvin Pace, whom the Jets threw a lot of money at and who has had only one good season which happened to be 2007. In the defensive line, the Jets acquired Kris Jenkins from the Carolina Panthers. With this, the Jets put a 4-3 DT in the nose tackle position of a 3-4 defense. Hmm. Eric Mangini could know something. The defensive ends are nothing stellar as well. Fact is, it's hard to tell if these signings are going to pay off for the Jets. Everyone seems to have guaranteed the Jets a playoff spot. They seem to forget, however, that they could be stuck with the 2005 and 2006 version of Brett Favre, which was absolutely awful. Was 2007 a fluke? I really want to wish the best of luck to Favre. So there. Good luck, Brett. You'll always be a Packer.

Halfway All-Pros!

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 02:29:35 -0500

I decided to do this this week because it's just as close to half as next week. Lesgo! Offense: QB: Donovan McNabb (PHI) RB: Tiki Barber (NYG), Stephen Jackson (STL) WR: Laverenues Coles (NYJ), Torry Holt (STL) TE: Todd Heap (BAL) T: Walter Jones (SEA), Willie Anderson (CIN) G: Steve Hutchinson (MIN), Alan Faneca (PIT) C: Jeff Saturday (IND) Defense: DT: Jamal Williams (SD), Tommie Harris (CHI) DE: Julius Peppers (CAR), Jason Taylor (MIA) OLB: Keith Bulluck (TEN, Eric Barton (NYJ) ILB: Brian Urlacher (CHI), Ray Lewis (BAL) CB: Champ Bailey (DEN), Ronde Barber (TB) FS: Chris Hope (PIT) SS: Troy Polamalu (TEN) P: Mat McBriar (DAL) K: Robbie Gould (CHI) PR: Devin Hester (CHI) KR: Justin Miller (NYJ) Notes: Pittsburgh had both safeties last year, let Chris Hope go ... Chicago leads with four, two on special teams ... Jets follow with three (I'm not biased at all), then a multitude with two ... St.Louis leads the offense with two, Tennessee and Chicago lead the defense with two ... Shawne Merriman (SD) replaced by Bulluck after steroids test ... Tennessee a surprise team with two players ...