NFL

If you don’t follow the New York Giants, then you probably don’t know who Steve Smith is. In his rookie year in the NFL, Steve Smith was a back-up Wide Receiver behind powerhouses like Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. In his second year, he picked up his game, especially after Burress shot himself in the leg. With both Toomer and Burress left the team before the start of the 2009 season, a lot of questions were going around as to who was going to step up and fill the void.

Steve, the “little” (relatively to the rest of the WR’s in the NFL) engine that could, broke out on the scene with 107 receptions, 1,220 yards, and 7 touchdowns. This is twice as many as the year before and became the go-to guy for Eli Manning. His trademark was running across the first-down line to make a quick catch, especially on third downs.

His quick rise on the Giants offense earned him consideration for this years Pro Bowl. Dressing up in the blue-and-white of the NFC’s pro team, Steve took the field with players such as Deshawn Jackson, Miles Austin, and more. While Steve participated in many plays, he only made one reception … but what a reception it was!

Darting down the sideline, Steve caught a 48 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers in the end-zone for a touchdown. As you can see from the video below, he turns around and backpedals to the goal line, catching the ball right between the numbers while facing down Denver Broncos’ Corner back Champ Bailey rushing right at him. The two make contact right when Steve catches the ball, with Champ falling on top of Steve as they fall to the ground.

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If it wasn’t for the fantastic game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers, I was going to say this Wild card Weekend of the NFL really sucked. The Dallas Cowboys / Philadelphia Eagles game was a no-contest. Once Dallas reached the two-score differential, it was all over. The New York Jets / Cincinnati Bengals wasn’t as close as the score reflects. The Baltimore Ravens dominated the New England Patriots on defense.

After the first quarter, I was ready to turn the game off. Green Bay was already behind by two scores and it seemed that Arizona was going to run away with it. However, when the second-half came around, it was a non-stop scoring blitz. After 60-minutes, the two teams accounted for 90 points and set the game into overtime. I was hoping for a continuation of the high-powered offense as was through the first 4 quarters, but alas, Arizona’s defense swiped the ball and ran it in for the winning score.

May the rest of the playoffs be as entertaining as the Packers game.

By “suck,” I am referring to their lack of play over the past two weekends.  I can slightly forgive their loss to the Saints (since I was expecting the Saints to win anyway), but the Giants have allowed 600 passing yards, 196 rushing yards, 10 TDs, and 1 field goal without matching the output of their opponents.  You can’t be the “leading NFC team” with a performance like that.

Coming up, the Giants face:

Philadelphia – A must win to put some distance between their NFC East counterparts
San Diego – Philip Rivers and the Chargers are gaining momentum, making this game as tough as the Dallas game in week 2
Atlanta – One of the hottest teams going back to last year.  Not to be underestimated
Denver – Still undefeated, and probably as tough as the Saints
Dallas – Looking for revenge following their loss in week 2′s high-scoring battle
Philadelphia – If they are still in contention, they will bring all they have against Eli
Washington – Possibly their first opponent with a losing record at this point
Carolina – A team that has punished the Giants three years in a row late in the season or post-season
Minnesota – Bret Favre is looking for revenge from two years ago, and now he has Adrian Petersen to boot.

The Giants need to get their act together this week, or any chance at a repeat post-season will quickly slip through their fingers … like many of the passes last night.

As I mentioned in my article last night, I enjoy preseason since we see trick plays that we would otherwise not see during the season.  This was true last night during the first quarter when Titan rookie punter AJ Trapasso faked a hand-off and ran the ball in for a touchdown.  The execution was so smoothe that, even during slow-motion replay, it is hard to follow the ball during the exchange. 

Well done, AJ!

Here is a link to the video:  link

Tonight starts the new season of the NFL.  It’s hard to believe that it is already preseason.  This summer has just flown by, with July being a blur to me.  But tonight, on NBC, we get a rare treat.  The Hall of Fame game features one of the surprising teams of last year with one of the teams to watch this year.  I’m talking about the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills. 

Personally, however, I’m waiting for next week, when the NY Giants face off against the Carolina Panthers.  These two teams have shared some very important games over the past few years, with the Panthers denying the Giants of extended post-season runs for the Superbowl.  While the first quarter usually is the only time the starters hit the feild, it is the later part of the games that I find interesting.  New players hit the field, gimmicks are tested, and the scoring can become wild.

So all I have to ask is … ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!?!?!?