Monthly Archives: September 2011

Under the lights Saturday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while an exciting unfolded between Notre Dame and Michigan, I watched the heroics of Wolverines quarterback Denard Robinson. But something was lost in transition.

The Fighting Irish have seen their fair share of top receivers—Tim Brown, Raghib ‘Rocket’ Ismail and Golden Tate—make their mark in South Bend, but it’s current senior Michael Floyd who will leave Notre Dame leading the school in every receiving category in the record books.

“It’s amazing that someone as physically big as he is looks like he has that extra burst,” said Rocket Ismail. “It’s pretty impressive to see.” That physical presence is due to Floyd’s immense size of 6’3” and 225 pounds, which allows him to monster over most defenders, who pale in comparison to his elite size.

The luck

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SCOUT’S NOTEBOOK

Many Penn State fans were hoping for the best in last week’s rematch between the Nittany Lions and the Crimson Tide at Beaver Stadium. But as expected, Joe Paterno’s crew lacked the firepower to seriously compete with the SEC powerhouse in the 27-11 loss at Beaver Stadium.

A.J. Wins the QB Duel

While Alabama has already figured out who its starting quarterback is, Penn State is currently stuck playing musical chairs with Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin. The former is a true sophomore who still lacks the instincts to properly play the position, while McGloin is fiery, but lacks the physical talent possessed by his fellow signal caller.

Bolden got first dibs and was successful in leading his team downfield, setting up a 43-yard Evan Lewis field

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The Giants lost to the Redskins, 28-14, and you shouldn’t be surprised. Sure, you can chalk it up to injuries if you want, but that’s too easy. The team did nothing to improve during the off-season; why should anyone expect the results to change? Eli Manning played poorly, going 18-32 for 268 yards with an interception and no touchdown passes. His performance was devoid of spirit. As a team, the Giants were a pathetic 1-10 on third down conversions, and the running back tandem of Bradshaw and Jacobs ran 19 times for 73 yards behind an offensive line that was shaky at best. That line also yielded four sacks. Eight penalties didn’t help, nor did the banged-up secondary. Rex Grossman played well, but at some point I thought the Giants would actually, ya know, cover Fred Davis…or hit a long pass…or convert a 3^rd down. Injuries are part

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AFC Playoffs

Wild Card Round: Pittsburgh over NY Jets, Houston over Baltimore.<br <br Divisional Round: San Diego over Houston, New England over Pittsburgh<br <br AFC Championship: San Diego over New England

NFC Playoffs

Wild Card: Dallas over St. Louis   Atlanta over Tampa Bay<br

Divisional: Green Bay over Dallas  Atlanta over Phildelphia<br

NFC Championship: Green Bay over Atlanta<br <br SUPER BOWL: Green Bay over San Diego

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St. Louis Rams (9-7): He, who during the struggle with steel in the deed of war, will have carried off the prize from on greater than he?

This isn’t the toughest division in the league…OK, it stinks. But the Rams are headed in the right direction and have a quarterback ready to take a big step forward.

Offense: Will Sam Bradford maintain the momentum

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Atlanta Falcons (11-5): The shining deed of the old one exalted anew…

The Falcons had their playoff hopes dashed by the eventual champs. The reasons were clear and they’ve done all they can to address them.

Offense: How much of a difference will Julio Jones make? Can Michael Turner maintain his heavy workload?

Crystal Ball Says: The Falcons gave up quite a bit to move

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In 2011, Ohio State Buckeyes junior Jake Stoneburner was named to the watch list for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s best tight end.

Under the brutally intense heat in its home opener, the Buckeyes junior tight end set a new school record by hauling in three touchdown passes from first year starting quarterback Joe Bauserman. Stoneburner responded to his record setting day by first saying he was happy that the team won and joking, “I’m also happy about scoring three times.” He was sure to immediately comment on the quarterback play of Bauserman, “Joe played a great game. He was out there looking for me and we connected three times.”

The whirlwind off-season for the Scarlet and Gray saw plenty of changes, from its head coach leaving as well as its star quarterback. However, Stoneburner, one of the mainstays is still here in

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Green Bay Packers (12-4): There will be a King…And for a long time will he flourish. <br

Green Bay won the Super Bowl last season despite suffering numerous injuries. Now, they get those players back. Math’s easy.

Offense: Will Aaron Rodgers continue to ascend the ranks of the QB elite? Will Ryan Grant fit in after returning from injury?

Crystal Ball Says: Rodgers

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Philadelphia Eagles (11-5): One day the two great masters will be friends, their great power will be seen increased.

With all the additions and hype, this team should finally win a Super Bowl for Andy Reid…right? Yeah, sure. Just ask LeBron James.

Offense: Will Michael Vick remain healthy, or will his style of play result in him getting hit one too many times? Can

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Big Ten: Ferentz Weighs In On Personnel

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz highlighted the efforts of some his players following last week’s mater-of-fact 34-7 victory over Tennessee Tech, but made no excuses for players who had ball control issues created by the wet and rainy conditions at Kinnick Stadium.

Running back Marcus Coker’s performance certainly was a sore subject given how the sophomore fumbled the ball twice—one of which was recovered by the opposition— and gained a paltry 41 yards on 11 carries.

“He’s going to bounce back. Marcus is a good football player first of all, but more importantly he’s a quality person,” said the 13^th year Hawkeye head coach. “I’m glad he didn’t use the weather or the conditions as an excuse or crutch.”

When commenting on middle linebacker James

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