Sports Blog » Green Bay Packers

Madden 2010 Player Ratings — Some Of Them, Anyway

Dave — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:14:42 +0000

Every summer, I start to think about NCAA two-zero-fill-in-the-blank, and Madden two-zero-fill-in-the-blank. This year will be NCAA 2010, and Madden 2010, and given that both of my teams should be good (Georgia Tech and the Falcons), I feel a little more excited than most.

I couldn’t find the NCAA 2010 player ratings. They don’t seem to be anywhere. But I did find some of Madden 2010’s player ratings, or at least the top 10 at each position. Here they are. Enjoy.

PS: If anyone finds out Matt Ryan’s rating, please comment below.

[Falcons Message Board]

Welcome Brett Favre Back To Football

Dave — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:48:29 +0000

There isn’t much reason for a 39 year-old ex-quarterback to get surgery on his hurt bicep. Not, unless, he plans on throwing the football again. And what team has he decided to ruin this time around? Why, it’s those lovely Vikings, who used to depend on the run game, and will now air it out and go 2-6 down the stretch, ruining their shots at a playoff birth and getting their head coach fired. Sound familiar? It should.

Rehabilitation would be six to eight weeks.

If it goes well, Farve, who will turn 40 in October, is expected to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, the Pioneer Press reports.

Favre’s agent Bus Cook, however, has insisted in interviews this month that Favre will remain retired.

Eric Mangini said goodbye to New York. I think Brad Childress will say goodbye to Minnesota. And when Farve ruins a team again, I hope he just stays retired this time. Seriously.

[AJC]

Oh Yay, Brett Favre Isn’t Really Retiring Again…

Dave — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:24:37 +0000

Is it possible to retire, want to come back, retire, then want to come back all in the span of a year? Well, if it isn’t, then Brett Favre’s a miracle maker, and I mean that more than being able to single handedly wreck the Jets’ playoffs hopes last year with interception after interception.

The guy, as it turns out, is eyeing a possible return. Yippee.

Citing an anonymous source “with direct knowledge of the discussions between the two parties,” ESPN reported Tuesday that Favre is scheduled to meet with Vikings coach Brad Childress later this week about a possible comeback with Minnesota.

It was believed all along that Favre, after hearing Green Bay’s plans to go with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, wanted to come to NFC North rival Minnesota so he could exact some revenge on the Packers.

Revenge? For what? For employing the guy four years too long, letting him retire, and then telling him he can’t come back and just expect to be the starter after he does retire and then three months later decides he isn’t done yet?

Man, that guy must be pissed. Prepare, people: We’re going to have another year of listening to “this is Favre’s last year.” Let’s see if he can crush Minnesota’s playoff hopes like he did the Jets. AT this point, would you really even want the guy?

[AJC]

NFL Draft Grades: See How Your Team Did

Dave — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:06:30 +0000

I’m not somebody that really cares about draft grades the day after a draft — how many times have these so-called “experts” been wrong in the past? — but since NFL is officially over, and since we’re stuck with a few boring NBA series right now and 145 more MLB games, I figure I may as well milk this post for what it’s worth.

It’s the last time we’ll be discussing the NFL until a Bengals player gets arrested in the offseason.

How’d your team do over the weekend? I’ve got lots of different opinions from lots of different people. Click here and you can see how Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline rates the picks; click here to see how Larry Weisman, writer for USA Today, breaks down all seven rounds. Clifton Brown, writer for Sporting News Today, has his take here; for Yahoo! Sports, go here.

I’d give you Todd McShay or Mel Kiper, Jr., but they’re douche bags and charge you $39.95 a year for their services — if I could charge everyone $39.95 to be completely wrong about how a player will turn out, I would. McShay isn’t that bad, but Kiper’s looked like a weatherman with some of his recent predictions.

Enjoy the grades. They mean nothing. At the end of the day, Calvin Johnson has to catch Matthew Stafford’s passes, and DHB wasn’t a stretch by Oakland until he officially busts in Oakland. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I’m counting down to September. Fall, you couldn’t get here soon enough.

NFL Strengths Of Schedules — How Is Your Team Being Screwed?

Dave — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:11:37 +0000

ESPN has a nice little piece on each team’s strength of schedule for 2009. It also notes that if you went from worst to first in the NFC South, then you’re pretty much screwed (see: Falcons, who have the fourth hardest schedule this year, with opponents’ records being a combined 150-105).

An interesting note: The Cardinals, who made the Super Bowl, have the 27th hardest schedule, or sixth easiest next year; the Minnesota Vikings, who won their division and played a first round playoff game at home, have the second easiest schedule. The Patriots, who missed the playoffs, have the third easiest schedule.

You can see all teams here. With the addition of Jay Cutler, and with the easiest schedule in the NFL, it looks as if the Bears might have an easy ride to the playoffs next year.

[ESPN]

Nothing Like An NFL Combine To Gauge If A Guy Can Run Fast And Jump High And Be Great

Dave — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:47:44 +0000

I’ve noted many times that the NFL Combine is the most overrated event in sports when it comes to gauging talent, yet every year I get caught up in what a guy runs or what a guy jumps or what a guy throws (combine studs that probably went a bit high: JaMarcus Russell, Donte Stallworth, and just last year, Vernon Gholston).

That said, via The Big Lead, here’s some guys that impressed, and some guys that didn’t. A couple of notables on my end, from what I’ve seen on NFL Network:

Pat White, QB/WR: He ran an unofficial time of 4.49 in the 40, and then it was adjusted to a 4.55. He also jumped a solid nine feet in the broad jump, which is real important once you’re actually in the game. I know I often see guys stand in place, squat, and leap as far forward as possible. Like I said: Great gauge at talent.

Darius Heyward-Bey, WR: This guy was being talked about as a second rounder, but after running a 4.3 flat, he’s probably going to end up cracking the top 15. Michael Crabtree is still “the guy” when it comes to receivers, but Heyward-Bey is sure creeping up.

Derrick Anderson, WR: This is the guy that I think will be a solid NFL player — probably a good number two receiver — but his 4.58 40 will have schools not paying attention to whether or not he can run a route and catch the ball, and just say he’s too slow to play.

Beanie Wells, RB: I can’t tell if a 4.59 40 is good or bad for him. On one side, it’s slower than most strong safeties. But he’s 235 pounds, and at that size, how fast do you want him to run?

[The Big Lead]
Getting Listy With The Combine

Brett Favre Not Even A Top 20 QB?

Dave — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:34:33 +0000

According to Mark Bradley of the AJC, Brett Favre wasn’t one of the best of all time, and he’s got some pretty decent numbers backing him. Yes, Favre led the NFL in all time passing yards, but people: The guy was a lightning rod for interceptions.

My hope is that he’s truly gone this year and doesn’t wreck another team. The Packers played better with Aaron Rodgers at the helm — say what you will about the record, but that had nothing to do with Green Bay’s offense — and the Jets were worse off with Favre at the helm (just ask anyone who played on that team the last three or four games of the season).

Anyway, good read. At the end of each season, we put a clock on when Brett Favre says that he’s done with football. Now we start the clock on when he says he’s going to return.

[AJC]

Lions Officially Winless For The Season

Dave — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:54:03 +0000

I think we all knew around Week 11 that the Lions weren’t winning a game this year, but today they made it official: They’ll be going to Canton as the only 0-16 team ever in NFL history.

The Lions lost to the Green Bay Packers 31-21 on Sunday, making them the first team to go winless through a 16-game season. The 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14) were the last NFL team to complete a season without a victory.

“I’ve got to live with this,” center Dominic Raiola said. “I’ve been here eight years. This is on my resume.”

On the bright side, Calvin Johnson ended his season with 106 yards receiving and two touchdowns, but he couldn’t help the hapless Lions defense, who never had an answer to Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Green Bay offensive attack.

Most of the current blame will fall on this year’s front office, but at the end of the day Matt Millen has to take the fall. He had numerous top 10 picks, and all he’s got to show for it is Ernie Sims, who’s a decent linebacker, and Calvin Johnson, who is an elite player that will never live up to his potential with the QB’s they have picked out.

Next stop: Drafting Sam Bradford or Matthew Stafford. And even they can’t turn it around. That defense is just awful.

NFL Spreads

Dave — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:21:46 +0000

Here’s how I’m doing against Vegas this year. Sorry for the abbreviated run down again this week, but I’ve got a real time crunch with work and Christmas coming up. Enjoy the picks.

Last Week: 7-6
On the Season: 115-100
Locks of the Week: 14-6

Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars (+6)
Baltimore Ravens @ Dallas Cowboys (-4)
Pittsburgh Steelers (-2) @ Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins (-4) @ KC Chiefs
Arizona Cardinals @ New England Patriots (-7)
Cincinnati Bengals (+3) @ Cleveland Browns
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins (+5)
SF 49′ers @ St. Louis Rams (+5.5)
Atlanta Falcons (+3) @ Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints (-7) @ Detroit Lions
Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants (-3)
New York Jets (-4) @ Seattle Seahawks
Houston Texans (-7) @ Oakland Raiders
Buffalo Bills @ Denver Broncos (-6.5)
San Diego Chargers @ Tampa Bay Bucs (-3)
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears (-4)

NFL Pro Bowl

Dave — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:01:19 +0000

The NFL Pro Bowl rosters have been announced, and like every year when these things are announced, there’s already a big uproar of who’s been snubbed and who doesn’t deserve to be there. You can get both the NFC and AFC starting rosters here and figure out who you think got snubbed.

To know who deserved to go at every position I’d have to be some kind of NFL machine. As much as I love the NFL, I couldn’t tell you if every guy picked deserved to be there or not. That said, here’s just a couple of snubs that jump out at me.

-John Abraham: He’s probably the biggest snub I see. The guy has 15.5 sacks and is the only reason Atlanta’s defense has been decent (if you look at that roster, their next best defensive player is Curtis Lofton, a rookie, or Lawyer Milloy, a 36 year-old). He had three sacks against the Bucs, and one of them came in overtime to help Matt Ryan and the offense get the ball in good field position to set up the winning field goal.

Brandon Jacobs: Maybe he doesn’t have the stats and yards of the other guys. But the Giants were 11-1 with that guy in the roster, and we all saw Sunday night what happens when that guy goes out. He’s the most important player to his team, and he’s the oil that helps run that offensive machine.

DeAngelo Williams: This one deserves an asterisk, because it’s not like you can take out AP, Michael Turner, or Clinton Portis. But the guy had a killer year.

Haloti Ngata: Big reason the Ravens D is back to being the Ravens D. He anchors that defensive line.

Brett Favre: This isn’t a snub. He actually made it in. How in the hell did Brett Favre make the Pro Bowl? This is another reason the NFL shouldn’t let fan votes. Every no-nothing football fan votes for Favre because they know him. Favre should give his ticket to Matt Cassel.

Calvin Johnson: He’s playing on the worst team maybe in the history of the league. He’s had four different starting quarterbacks. He’s still got 1,165 yards, 10 touchdowns, and is averaging 17.9 yards per catch. He’s Randy Moss, only there’s no players around him. A team would get a steal if they could somehow trade for this guy in the off-season.