Yardbarker: Corey Webster

Hey, It's John Anthony With Your Million Dollar Picks

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:02:55 -0500

Last night, the Giants started the 2008-09 season where they left off, and the Redskins actually might have to go to Colt Brennan to jump start their anemic offense. Big Blue looked good, not great, last night. But they were efficient and balanced, with both Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Burress reaching 100+ yards in their respective efforts.

What I Liked Last Night: The opening celebration with Strahan....great penetration on the D-line against the run, especially up the middle....Aaron Ross making great down-field tackles....Brandon Jacobs turning LaRon Landry into a speed bump....John Carney nailing his FG attempts and long kickoffs....Corey Webster with 3 pass defenses....and of course Plaxico Burress' catches, including the bobbled catch in the red zone.

What I Didn't Like: Giants' red zone offense....Eli's inaccuracy (had about 4 passes that were in the hands of Skins' defenders) and how he still seems to be off the page with some receivers....kickoff coverage....where were the other RBs (Bradshaw, Ware, etc.)?....and the scariest thing of all was the fact that they could not put that team away. One play going in favor of the Skins early in the second half could have changed the whole game. Oh, and how LT David Diehl got pushed around often last night, resulting in pressures and 1 big sack in the second half.

Game Ball Goes To: Plaxico Burress and Jim Zorn. 10 catches for 133 yards, while showing speed and toughness against press coverage only helped to solidify the contract warranted and received by Plax (5 years, $35 mil) before the game. Jim Zorn coached an awful game for his first time by not allowing Campbell to get into a rhythm early, vanilla play calling, and horrid time management.

Next Game: Sunday, 9/14 at St. Louis

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here are my pics for Week 1 of the NFL Season

Lions (-3.5) over FALCONS.

Cardinals (-2.5) over 49ERS.

COLTS and Bears under (44).

And the Upset Pick of the Week....

Seattle (+1) over BUFFALO.

Hey, It's John Anthony With Your Million Dollar Picks

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:37:38 -0500

They Can Because They Think They Can

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:52:55 -0500

With both Michael Strahan and Osi Uminyiora gone, the Giants 'D' suffered a severe blow that could cripple other teams. But, then, the Giants aren't just some other team. They didn't stumble into the Super Bowl, they fought their way to The Championship by being tough, smart and resilient. They still have Justin Tuck and can move Mathias Kiwanuka back to End — a very talented and formidable duo. But, the problem is, they won't enjoy the luxury of the depth they had last season. But that doesn't mean the season's over. Far from it. The Giants job now is to 'HOLD THE FORT,' until the cavalry arrives; and, yes, the cavalry is on the way. They'll be here in November. Championships aren't won in August or September or October; they're won in November, December, January and February. A 5-3 or 4-4 or 3-5 or even a 2-6 record heading into November doesn't preclude a championship run. The trick will be to get to November in a position to make that run. So, assuming Tuck and Kiwanuka are the Defensive Ends, what are some other possibilities? Possibility#1 — The Giants talk Strahan out of retirement. Word is he'd be willing to come back for about 8 million or so, But he won't be ready to play for a while because he's not in football shape. So, without pushing him and assuming he stays healthy, he could be rounding into form by November. Possibilty#2 — Osi doesn't have the Meniscus repaired but, rather, has it removed. According to some specialists, that could put him back in 6 to 8 weeks. At that point, having been away for a while, he'd need some time to get back into football shape — again, along about November. Possibility#3 – Jerry Reese brings a player in via the waiver wire or a trade — maybe just a journeyman or youngster who hasn't yet 'made his bones' yet, like Hixon, Mitchell and Hedgecock last year. Reese specializes in finding 'gems in the rough' and this Giants coaching staff specializes in 'coaching them up.' They could have a new guy — or guys — ready to contribute by November. Possibility#4 — By November, look for Kenny Phillips to be starting alongside James Butler at Safety with Corey Webster and Aaron Ross at Corner and with plenty of depth behind them. This years secondary could be much strongest than last years group that had their deficiencies covered up by a super pass rush. Possibilty#5 — Spagnuolo does his usual 'D' 'thing' and — with the guys already on the roster and no new additions — mixes and matches and, like the original mad scientist, Bill Bellichick, comes up with schemes and coverages that befuddle the opposition. In this century's NFL, the strength of a team lies not in their personnel — all teams have good players and salary caps and roster size limitations. The strength of a team, these days, resides in their management staff. The Giants have a terrific young GM who finds talent and a great coaching staff that molds that talent into tough, smart, resilient champions who simply won't quit. The Giants are a team that never seems to know they're not supposed to win and as the Roman philosopher Seneca said more than 2000 years ago, "They can because they think they can." So, memo to the NFC East — don't count the Giants out! They can because they think they can.

Preseason Game 2: Giants vs. Browns - What to Watch For

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:52:54 -0500

Hazem Kiswani of Giants 101 tells Giants fans what they should be keeping their eyes on in Big Blue's Monday night matchup with the Cleveland Browns.

8 Crazy Scenarios on Brett Favre's Future

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:53:41 -0500

Brett Favre is now A JET... So here are 8 possibilites of Brett Favres future and Ill call them backup plans for now.......Brett Favre probably sees Corey Webster in his dreams. As well the Jets are pathetic and they arent going anywhere with him anyway...Unless Jericho Cotchery catches 30 td passes and Thomas Jones runs for 4000 yds. Side Comment-->The AFC East is a joke, Patriots get 6 freeebie wins against the AFC East with Buffalo the only threat but they somehow blow it each time they play the Patriots.... BRETT FAVRE'S Favorite Dream:::::

Fantasy Football Analysis: New York Giants

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:16:07 -0500

As a diehard Giants fan I am going to break down the fantasy impact from the defending Super Bowl Champions for 2008-09. Quarterback: Eli Manning emerged late last season, going on a run of epic proportions. Manning led the Giants on the road to Tampa Bay, Dallas, Green Bay and Phoenix for the Super Bowl to beat the Bucs, Cowboys, Packers and Patriots. His leadership skills are not questioned, what is questioned is his on field decision making. He threw only one interception in the postseason, but he threw 20 in the regular season. Eli is coming along but he is not a top tier guy, yet. He will be around in the middle rounds of your draft, but don't take him ahead of David Garrard, Ben Roethlisberger, Donovan McNabb or the equivilant. Backing up Manning this season will be either David Carr or Anthony Wright, avoid at all costs. Running Back: Brandon Jacobs just barely eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last season, battling injuries along the way. This moves Jacobs, a bigtime touchdown threat, out of the first 10 or so running backs and into that second round, early third round area. He is a great pick though as the Giants are a run-heavy team and will give the big man lots of carries. The area that still needs to be decided in who backs up Jacobs. Both Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw played well last season backing up Jacobs. Ward ran for over 600 yards in his time and Bradshaw came on late to provide some speed when Ward went down. Problem is they will probably split the backup carries, making neither of them a strong fantasy play. Wide Receiver: Plaxico Burress is an elite receiver. He is the big man on the Giants roster and is numero uno in the red zone, see Super Bowl winning TD. Burress is a strong pick in the second or third rounds. After him there will be a big fall off to Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, David Tyree, Sinorice Moss and rookie Mario Manningham. Smith emerged late and Toomer was hurt last season. They will both see probably 30-35 catches this year, but not many touchdowns, maybe five between them. Tyree and Manningham will be non-factors. Tight End: Kevin Boss has become a very important late-round draftpick with the trade of Jeremy Shockey. Manning likes to use his tight ends and Boss proved last season he can make the big play when necessary. Boss isn't worth drafting ahead of more proven veterans but if he is on the board in one of the final rounds, he is worth grabbing and stashing if you have space. Kicker: Lawrence Tynes is good, but not great. It's fantasy football and kickers are not important, if he's there you can get him, he will get a lot of chances to score, but he didn't have a great FG percentage last season. Defense: The Giants defense is one of the five best in the game. They will get you a ton of sacks, even without Michael Strahan, and will cause a lot of fumbles. They are prone to giving up some big points but will make plays all over the field. Their defensive backs should have decent INT numbers this season with Aaron Ross, Corey Webster, Sam Madison and Kenny Phillips out there.

Mike Florio Stays Consistent & Makes Dumb Comments On the Colts

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:56:34 -0500

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3RocbkSz3c For people who happen to read Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk, you should already know that he thinks the Colts are going to be passed by the Jaguars. He backs up this ridiculous thought with bad information and the twisting of facts. On the link posted above, you can see Mike Florio spouting off his usual "The Colts are doomed. There time is up." crap that he has been saying since the offseason started. He pretty much gives us three reasons on why the Colts are doomed: There are a bunch of injuries, the Colts give out big contracts which causes a lack of depth, and the Jaguars spent a lot of money this offseason. True, the Colts do have a lot of injuries. They also have said and shown that everything is fine. Bob Sanders has said that he is almost at 100%. Dwight Freeney has been running in practice, which gives me the right to assume that he is around 90 to 100%. Peyton Manning had an infected bursa sac which is not a big deal at all. Marvin Harrison is 110% and is only missing tomorrow night's game just to be careful that he wouldn't reinjure them. The contract comment was ignorant and stupid. If the Colts have bad depth, then teams with good depth should have multiple Pro Bowlers on the bench. Here are all of the players that were projected starters or contributors going into training camp that missed multiple games: Marvin Harrison Anthony Gonzalez Tony Ugoh Ryan Diem Dwight Freeney Anthony McFarland Raheem Brock Robert Mathis Rob Morris Freddy Keiaho So we didn't have 9 starters and our first round draft pick for multiple games, and still went 13-3 losing to the 2 teams who played in the AFC Championship Game by a combined score of I think it was 7 and a game where we rested the starters. That comment was made out of pure ignorance to what happened last year. He chose a little fact, and he ignored the other facts to make it seem like it was a problem. Jeff Saturday will get a big contract this offseason or at least the franchise tag. It won't hurt the team. Sure, Tyjuan Hagler might have to leave, and some players might be cut, but it won't affect the team. Throw in Cato June, Nick Harper, Jason David, and Dominic Rhodes, all of whom started in the Super Bowl season left, and we had a better playoff seed this time around. Also, his comment about the Jags spending money was another dumb one. In that case, I guess the Redskins should win the Super Bowl, the Knicks should win the NBA Championship, the Yankees should win the World Series, and USC should win the BCS National Championship Game. The teams that spend the most money don't always win the most games. It's not how much money you spend. It's how wisely you spend it. The Colts signing Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Dwight Freeney, and Bob Sanders to big contracts is better than giving players like Jerry Porter big contracts. These players are proven stars. Jerry Porter hasn't done anything recently to deserve that contract. Good teams don't spend money in the offseason on big name free agents. Look at the Patriots. They have drafted well over the past 8 years and made smart trades to get Welker and Moss, and they did great last year. The Chargers did well drafting LT, Luis Castillo, Shawne Merriman, Antonio Cromartie, and signing Antonio Gates as an undrafted free agent. The Giants drafted Corey Webster, Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs, Gibril Wilson, Osi Umenyiora, Michael Strahan, Ahmad Bradshaw, and made a draft day trade for Eli Manning. All of these guys were key to the Super Bowl victory. My point is, signing big name players in free agency does not make a winner. Sure, the good teams all have some players that were acquired through free agency. The Colts have Adam Vinatieri. The Patriots have Rodney Harrison. The Giants have Plaxico Burress. However, none of these teams have been out signing every big name free agent that comes their way. That's what the Raiders do. They get players like Javon Walker and suck. Free agency is not the way to build a team. Drafting well and making smart personnel moves is. So to sum it up, Mike Florio is as knowledgable as a five year old in Pakistan about the NFL and the game of football in general.

NFC EAST POSITION BATTLES

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:11:46 -0500

Cornerback: Anthony Henry vs. Adam Jones Henry wasn't pleased during last month's minicamp when Jones received some reps with the first team. But a Cowboys source told me Wednesday that he can't envision a scenario where Jones overtakes Henry during training camp unless there's an injury. Even though he was banged up last season, Henry still managed a team-leading six interceptions. He's got the best ball skills on the team and coaches think it will be a while before Jones shakes the rust off. Rookie Mike Jenkins will be the fourth cornerback. When the Cowboys go into their nickel package, Terence Newman will move inside and Henry and Jones will play on the outside. Of course, Jones has to get reinstated before you see him in a regular-season game. That's a certainty unless he breaks containment with authorities. Intensity index: Mild Ratliff Johnson Nose tackle: Jay Ratliff vs. Tank Johnson It's a stretch to call this an open competition, but it beats talking about the battle for third receiver, which will be a grudge match between Miles Austin and Sam Hurd if Terry Glenn doesn't agree to an amended contract. Johnson has fit in well with the team, but Ratliff's the guy who just got paid. He's outperformed his seventh-round selection and become one of the defense's emotional leaders. When Johnson rotates in at nose tackle, Ratliff is able to move to right end. Last year, this was a position of concern -- especially after Jason Ferguson went down with an injury. Ratliff played so well, though, that Ferguson became expendable. IF YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF THE NFC EAST< CLICK THE LINK

1/20/2008 - Ice Bowl II

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:50:04 -0500

The recent NFC Championship Game between the Packers and Giants had all the qualities of being nickname-worthy: a plethora of great plays, even more bone-headed mistakes, a game-winning field goal, a below-zero temperature, and just the third overtime ever in a championship game. And in the end, it was the player who failed more than anyone else who wound up being the hero.

A Letter to Brett Favre, from a Bears Fan.

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:09:38 -0500

Now the news is that Brett has requested a release from Green Bay, he wants back in. For those of you loyal readers you are all aware how I, Dom, feel about Brett Farve. With that said, Hello Brett Welcome back to the NFL. I have been trying not to write anything about this whole Brett Farve debacle the past few weeks. I wrote more than a few articles about All-Time All-Everything Greatest Quarterback human being ever to grace God's green Earth. Oh...Wait I forgot I don't yet work for Fox or ESPN. In that case, sucking up to Big Game Brett isn't a contractual obligation.

You Will Not Be Remembered

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:46:13 -0500

MBSR takes the time to gloat over the fallen Pats and remind their fans that no one ever remembers the good regular season team that couldn't get it done.

NFL Playoffs: Super Bowl XLII Preview

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:08:08 -0500

With only a few days left until the big show, FIO co-founder & editor Matt Hinzpeter takes a look at the New England/NY Giants match-up for Super Bowl XLII. Included are: Game-Time Forecast, a review of the two teams' 2007 Regular Season Meeting, a look at the present state of both teams on offense and defense, and a Game Outlook with prediction.