Category: NFL

Adrian Peterson, a 32 Year Old RB Coming Off Knee Surgery, is Shockingly Still a Free Agent

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Yahoo Sports – Adrian Peterson is still waiting. As incomprehensible as it seemed only a few weeks ago, one of the greatest running backs in NFL history is still waiting for significant pursuit one full week into free agency. Largely thanks to a depressed running backs market and Peterson’s age (he turns 32 on Tuesday), the final destination of the seven-time Pro Bowler remains unknown, even as running backs like Eddie Lacy, Latavius Murray, Danny Woodhead and Rex Burkhead each found landing spots before Peterson.

Why does this surprise anyone? Guy is a 32 year old running back coming off KNEE surgery and in the middle of a trial for beating the shit out of his toddler son? Doesn’t exactly seem like a product that would be flying off the shelves like a Malibu Stacy doll.

Look is the guy totally done? I don’t know, but he’s certainly not someone I’m giving much more than the veteran’s minimum to and I’m sure as shit not relying on him to be my go-to RB. So he’s gonna be a guy who will hang around looking for one, last big deal that he’s not going to get. So he’ll end up signing as a backup somewhere else.

This isn’t a “frosty” situation, this is an entirely predictable situation if you just take AP’s name out of the equation. In 2016 Player X rushed for 72 yards in 3 games with an Avg Yards per Attempt of 1.9 and 0 Touchdowns. Then got knee surgery. WHY would that player have a booming free agency market? Yes, I know he rushed for almost 1,500 yards and 11 TD’s the year before, but that will have been 2+ years ago by the time next season starts. When he was 30. Where do RB’s fall off? Yup, after 30. Especially power backs with knee surgeries. So please national media don’t pretend to be surprised with stuff like this, you’re better than that.

How Many of the 7 Deadly Sins Can the Mets Commit Against Tim Tebow?

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How many of the Seven Deadly Sins can the Mets commit against St. Tebow? Seems like a lot. Greed is right up there, selling Tebow Mets jerseys when he’s not even on the roster. Sloth maybe for running the guy out there, not caring he probably won’t make the team. Hell this NJ.com article has 5 non-roster invitees more likely to make the squad. Maybe Envy of other teams with successful project players? I can say for sure there is a shit load of Wrath from the fans for the Wilpons.

At this point I almost feel bad for Tebow. I mean if the guy wasn’t chiseled out of marble, world famous, Heisman winner and working a cushy gig on ESPN as a college football analyst, I would feel bad for him. Almost. This is starting to, everyone feign surprise, feel a lot like a publicity grab by the Mets.

Now I think it would be 1.) hilarious for Tebow to somehow actually crack the major league roster and become a contributing MLB player, but 2.) legendary as the only guy since Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson to play in both leagues. But from everything you hear out of the scouts, it seems like he’s a guy without a position who can’t hit a curve. Not a good combo in the MLB.

It’s a goddamn shame because the guy would have made a great H-back or Fullback in the NFL when QB didn’t pan out. But I can’t fault the guy for not wanting to develop CTE before he turns 30. At least we’ll always have the 2013 preseason when you were lighting it up for the Patriots, Tim. Never forget.

Ep 005 of The 300s Podcast Has Arrived!

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Episode 005 of The 300s Podcast is straight fire flames. We talk the early mayhem that is NFL Free Agency, Jimmy G on the trading block, Bruins surging after canning Claude Julien, the Celtics making zero moves at the trade deadline, Red Sox Spring Training and why the World Baseball Classic is a disaster.

Marquette King Punting Moon Shots Will Change Your Opinion of Punters Forever

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So Oakland (read: Las Vegas) Raiders punter Marquette King was showing off his bionic leg for some charity event recently and holy hell. All punters more or less look like guys that just wondered off the soccer field and fell into a million dollar salary ass backwards. But when you see shit like this from up close, my god I will never (not true) disrespect a punter again.

Marquette King may be my favorite non-Patriots player in the entire league when you pair that video with his electric, flag inducing celebration dances.

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Hey Raiders, you move to Las Vegas and I’ll be first in line to get a Marquette King jersey.

AP Set to Test Market

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No surprise here. No way the Vikings could justify paying Adrian Peterson $18 million next year with the decline in his productivity since his superhuman 2,097 yard season in 2012. That 2012 season came after offseason knee surgery to repair the MCL and ACL he tore in December 2011.

After that 2012 season, Peterson appeared in 14 games in 2013. He still averaged about 20 carries a game, but his yards per rushing attempt dropped to 4.5. Peterson averaged a career-high  6.0 yards per rushing attempt in 2012, and his career average was 5.0 prior to 2013.

His 2014 campaign was limited to just one game due to child abuse allegations, but he came back in 2015 and appeared in all 16 of the Vikings games. In 2015 he again averaged 4.5 yards per rushing attempt en route to a league-high 1485 yards (the second-lowest league-leading total in the last quarter century).

This past season Peterson was limited to just three games and 37 carries due to injuries. After rough weeks Week 1 and Week 2, Peterson came back for Week 15 against the Colts as the Vikings were fading from playoff contention. Peterson managed just 22 yards on 6 carries, and also lost a fumble in an embarrassing 34-6 home loss to the Colts. It could be Peterson’s last game in purple.

If I were an NFL GM, I’d stay away from Peterson this offseason. Regardless of the price tag, bringing on Peterson is inviting him to hijack your offense. The guy averages 19.7 carries per game for his career, and I don’t think his future production will warrant him touching the ball that much. Picking up at Peterson at this point would be more like the Jets adding LaDainian Tomlinson in 2010 than the Patriots adding Corey Dillon in 2004.

Dillon was a very good player when the Patriots picked him up, but he was never the league’s premier running back. He was a very good player for a very bad franchise, hungry to prove himself on a contender. That fueled Dillon as he went for a career-high 1635 yards for the Patriots in 2004, helping them win their third Super Bowl in four years. Tomlinson was already a Hall of Famer when he left San Diego, and put up two respectable but ultimately forgettable seasons with the Jets on the back nine of his career.

Don’t get me wrong, AP won’t lose you games in 2017. I just question whether his price tag and baggage will be worth what he can still bring to the table in what will be his 11th NFL season.

Super Mario to the Patriots, Revisiting the 2006 Draft and Talking MTV’s Two a Days

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Another aging, overpaid and undermotivated former NFL star is cut and whats the first thing everyone in the league does? Looks to see what Belichick does. At first glance this does look like a player that the Patriots would take a chance on, especially with some potential holes to fill in the defensive line this offseason. But Mario Williams is now 32 and his numbers have gone down across the board the last 3 years. He doesn’t strike me as a high motor veteran in a shitty situation like Chris Long this past season. But hey if he wants to take a massive pay cut and reserve his spot on the Duckboats for next year, far be it for me to stop him.

Super Mario did outlast his incrediblyyy hyped up peers from the 2006 draft though. I still remember ROASTING the Texans for passing on Reggie Bush, who had just finished one of the greatest college careers of all time at USC.

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What a wacky draft. Then of course there was Vince Young at No. 3 who had the highest of highs winning Rookie of the Year and landing on the cover of Madden before having some personal issues and fizzling out. He is on the comeback trail now though!

There were some pretty good players in that draft with Pro Bowlers like D’Brickishaw Ferguson, Jay Cutler (pre-smoking Jay Cutler meme days), Vernon Davis, Donte Hitner (Whitner). But holy shit do I feel old looking through the rest of this draft class. These guys have either been in the league for 10+ years or are already retired: Haloti Ngata, Tamba Hali, DeAngelo Williams, Nick Mangold, Devin Hester, D’Qwell Jackson (the original fall guy for Deflategate), Maurice Jones-Drew and my man Antonio Cromartie.

Required to post any time Antonio Cromartie is mentioned:

I’d be remiss without mentioning the thunder to Reggie Bush’s lightning, my man LenDale White. And how about these two HOF picks from Belichick himself; Laurence tap-dancing Maroney and Chad Jackson. Yuck.

Chad Jackson’s No. 1 claim to fame to this day is still having been on MTV’s Two a Days back at Hoover High (RIP Angels and Airwaves).

PS – Ever wonder what happened to those guys? This is absolute porn for anyone that used to actually watch Two A Day’s like me. And yes Hoover HC Rush Propst is 100% Bud Kilmer from Varsity Blues.

Adrian Peterson to the Patriots? This Move Would Be More Albert Haynesworth Than Corey Dillon

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A move like this just screams Joey Galloway, Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ocho Cinco more than it does Corey Dillon or Randy Moss. A guy who at one point was one of if not the premier player at his position who now is a bit older and admittedly has some baggage. We’re not even gonna get into the details of whether or not AP is a good guy, because beating the shit out of your kids does not a good person make you. As a pure football fit, I just don’t see it. The guy looked toast last year and *then* he blew out his knee. So running backs on the wrong side of 30 with multiple knee injuries don’t really do it for me.

Plus its not like AP is gonna take the veteran’s minimum to play alongside Tom Brady. He just does not seem like that kind of guy. I’d rather the Pats stick with what they have, maybe sign some other decently talented (and younger) running back like oh idk KARLOS WILLIAMS. Rather than bring in this guy and try and force a square peg into a round hole. Would it be nice to have the Adrian Peterson from 2012? Of course, but this guy is not that guy. He’ll be 32 when next season starts and he has taken a *beating* over the past 10 years with over 2,400 carries. The next guys on that list who are either still active or just recently retired? Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch and Chris Johnson. Not great company.

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Plus the Pats did just fine if I recall correctly, winning a Super Bowl with LeGarrette Blount carrying the ball primarily. A guy that Felger and Mazz ripped on and complained about how terrible he was from Day 1, despite rushing for 18 TD’s and almost 1,200 yards. I think TB12 and the Pats can make due without Adrian Peterson.

PS – Never forget the most frightening NFL commercial of all-time with AP just angrily running towards the camera in slow motion.

Ranking the Patriots Super Bowl Calls

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We talked about it on The 300s Podcast this week, and I think the time has come to rank the game-winning calls from the five Patriots Super Bowl wins. Here’s my list, and my thoughts on the broadcasters and their calls. Apologies in advance for having to watch some of the clips on YouTube, but at least all the links are in one place now.

5. Super Bowl 38 – CBS – Greg Gumbel

Back in 2003, Jim Nantz was still on studio duty hosting The NFL Today and Greg Gumbel was the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS. Gumbel is a sold broadcaster, but there’s not much here. Neither the call after the field goal nor the call after the kickoff add much. There’s something to be said about letting the moment “breathe” and letting the pictures tell the story, but some narration here would have been great.

4. Super Bowl 39 – FOX – Joe Buck

Joe Buck’s first Super Bowl broadcast. I think Buck takes far more criticism than he deserves, but he falls into the same trap here that Gumbel did at the end of Super Bowl 38. It’s nice to let the moment breathe, but some excitement or commentary would have helped distinguish this interception with nine seconds remaining in the Super Bowl from an interception in Week 9.

3. Super Bowl 36 – FOX – Pat Summerall

This call gets a lot of flack. I remember not liking it much at the time, either, but it has grown on me. Sure, a little more excitement or commentary would have been nice. But this moment benefits the most from the broadcasters letting it breathe and letting the pictures tell the story of complete bedlam after time expired. This was also Pat Summerall’s last game as FOX’s lead football broadcaster. Watching game replays today I half expect him to start talking about the leather helmet days and about when men were men.

2. Super Bowl 51 – FOX – Joe Buck

The easiest call in sports might be the walk-off home run, and this is the closest equivalent in football. Buck does a good job to call the play, shows some excitement, and sums things up pretty well at the end. “Brady has his fifth! What a comeback!”

1. Super Bowl 49 – NBC – Al Michaels

Not the first time Al Michaels has taken the top spot on a “best sports calls” list and hopefully not the last. I love the excitement in his voice, and am very impressed that he was able to spit out the name Malcolm Butler so easily. Butler wasn’t exactly a household name at that point.

EXTRA POINT

Not sure what the NFL television contract situation looks like right now, but I’d love to see ESPN/ABC get another Super Bowl soon. No one beats Sean McDonough in moments like these.