Going Up Top: Week 6 in the NFL

It seems very much the case that RBs have been the biggest beneficiaries of the off-season lockout. So many guys are having so many big games around the league regularly, as run defences cannot seem to get any plays going. This week it was the turn of Michael Turner, Rashard Mendenhall, LeSean McCoy and Ahmad Bradshaw to go big, and they quite rightly took the plaudits for leading their respective teams to crucial victories. However, we at BtC like to look beyond the obvious - here are some of the other difference makers in Week 6:

5. Shane Lechler (Raiders) - Faked FG pass to Kevin Boss for 35 yard TD. Everyone knows we like a trick play. This one turned out to be a game winner as Oakland triumphed 24-17 over the Browns in their first match at the Black Hole since the passing of Al Davis. With Jason Campbell's collarbone shattered earlier in the game, the Raiders had relied on Jacoby Ford's kickoff return to get them into a position of strength. Lining up for a 53 yard FG seemed perfectly reasonable given Sebastian Janikowski's powerful leg. The Browns' blocking unit, totally missed the run of TE Boss and he was given a free ride into the endzone. One further exciting development around Campbell's injury is the possible return to NFL action of Carson Palmer!

4. Corey Webster (Giants) - 4 tackles, 1 assist, 2 INTs. It was a tight affair at New Meadowlands, with the difference in turnovers proving key as New York prevailed 27-24 over the Bills. Buffalo had at least one INT in their 5 previous matches this season to sit at an unexpected 4-1, including 4 picks off Michael Vick last week. However, for a change, the Giants and Eli Manning were able to keep possession of the football and allowed Ahmad Bradshaw to have a big day with 3 rushing TDs. It was CB Webster who made the big plays on defence to twice pick off Ryan Fitzpatrick and set up Laurence Tynes' game winning FG.

3. Josh Freeman (Buccaneers) - 23/41, 303 yards, 2 TDs. UK NFL fans should be very excited at the return of Freeman to Wembley next Sunday. After making his debut as a rookie in a blowout defeat to the Patriots two years ago, Freeman has relied on his unique skillset, as well as voodoo (in-joke), to become one of the hottest prospects in the game today. I love him, even if he has been overshadowed by his peer Matthew Stafford up in Detroit so far this season. Tampa seized control of the NFC South by beating the Saints 26-20, Freeman utilising the deep threat of "No Country For" Arrellious Benn for a 65-yarder in the first half. What was more impressive is how he put last week's tonking by the 49ers out of his head and came back looking much more assured and accurate in the pocket than he had done.

2. Kurt Coleman (Eagles) - 5 tackles, 2 assists, 3 INTs. Yes, it's the gratuitous Eagles pick. Only this time much deserved. Coleman was a 7th round pick last year but came up big alongside fellow second-year safety Nate Allen, giving under-fire defensive Juan Castillo (he's an O-Line man for Christ's sake) the big plays he needed in a 20-13 win over divisional rivals Washington. More importantly, his 3 INTs finally ended the ludicrous idea that Rex Grossman was going to take the Redskins to the playoffs. He's really not. John Beck came on and ran in a TD but it was too late. Coleman has done the rest of the league a big favour!

1. Chicago Bears' O-Line and Special Teams - Another unit that has finally done what everyone had wanted for such a long time and got Donovan McNabb benched in Minnesota. Christian Ponder came on and did OK, and will probably get the job this week. For an O-Line that generally gets Jay Cutler sat on his arse most of the time, only giving up 1 sack and allowing 119 rushing yards is a big result, especially as Cutler looked at his best in completing 2 big TD passes. Further to that, although Devin Hester always gets the credit, the blocking that allowed him his 98-yard kickoff return was also top notch. The Bears won 39-10 - a big offensive performance even without Matt Forte at his very best.

RM

IP-Hell

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of BtC that I am rather fond of my cricket. Moreover, like most fans in this country, I am particularly fond of my Test match cricket, particularly in light of England’s recent success, becoming the Number 1 side in the world. But questions need to be asked of the rest of the world’s cricketing fraternity – who else really cares? Does Test cricket really have a future outside of England and Australia and, if so, for how long? Will the behemoth and cashcow that is Twenty20 cricket soon overshadow its’ purer (much) older brother to the extent that men in whites will be a phenomenon confined to the village green rather than Eden Gardens and the SSC in Colombo?

Those of you who have started following the new Twitter feed (@BtCliche) will know that I intended to write a piece on how the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is killing cricket at some point at the end of last week. Recent developments have made the points I was originally looking to make all the more pertinent. The ICC had originally scheduled a World Test Championship to take place in England in 2013 as part of the latest Future Tours Programme (take a look, it will make your brain run out of your nose if you try and make sense of it), featuring the 4 top ranked teams in the rankings (currently England, South Africa, India and Australia). However, owing to contract agreements with broadcasters, they have been forced to admit that they will more than likely have to stage the obsolete 50-over Champions Trophy (essentially the Diet Cricket World Cup) in its’ place, because the loss of revenue would be unpalatable to many of the national boards in these times of austerity. Now, have a guess which board could afford this loss but also stands to make the most from advertising and viewer subscriptions? Yep, that’d be the BCCI

If anybody watched England’s whitewash of India over the summer, it is pretty clear to see where the BCCI’s priorities lie. With the massive global financial success of the IPL and the sense of fervour surrounding their 50-over World Cup win back in April, it makes a lot of logistical sense for the BCCI to focus on these shorter forms. As a result, there was such apathy and nonchalance from many of those who took to the field in the four match series a few months ago. We can probably absolve Rahul Dravid and Praveen Kumar from such accusations, but for all their sterling batting line-up, did anybody else really live up to their billing? The old guard are beginning to creak and there are few signs of anyone able to step up into their shoes and adapt their game to the longest form. Young guns such as Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli are household names due to their exploits in limited overs cricket. However, Kohli didn’t even make it to England so poor was his debut Test series in the West Indies and Raina was given such a horrible working over by the short ball and even by Graeme Swann. This from a man who excels at smacking spinners out of the park in the IPL. Yes, the bowling was also crap, but nothing’s really new there – Swann is a rare breed in that he can be effective in English conditions, Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra’s efforts were pretty much par for the course for a visiting spinner, especially ones in a team whose focus is so clearly elsewhere.

As far as I’m concerned, if India want to recede in Test cricket, they can go ahead. So long as they fulfil their FTP (readers in Glasgow, that’s the Future Tours Programme again, not Protestant fundamentalism) obligations, then that’s great. However, the BCCI must stop using its clout to halt the progression of Test match cricket for everyone else. The Umpire Decision Review System has been around for a few years now in some form or another and has fulfilled its main purpose in raising the percentage of correct umpiring decisions made during a game. There are really only three main incidents that stick out – Daryl Harper being a tit as usual as 3^rd umpire in a Windies v England match in 2009, Hotspot failing to detect a couple of nicks from Dravid and VVS Laxman this summer and Hawkeye providing one tracking error in several thousand attempts in a Philip Hughes LBW decision against Sri Lanka a few weeks ago. You can never be 100% accurate – but when the technology exists and has been proven to be effective in coming to the right decision, it should be persevered with. However, the BCCI has been continually suspicious of the technology. So much so that when the initial recommendations by the ICC were made for the rule changes that came into effect last week, only Hotspot was to be part of the mandatory DRS package for all bilateral series. A few incidents such as the Laxman vs Michael Vaughan Vaseline-gate saga (basically the Indian public made a mountain out of a molehill and Vaughan is no longer welcome in Mumbai) and their suspicion of Hotspot began to grow. Cue more pressure on the ICC and lo and behold, DRS is no longer mandatory at all – we are back to where we started.

The truth is that for cricket to expand and reach new markets, the ICC needs the support of the BCCI. Everyone in world cricket knows this. Especially the BCCI themselves. They will always pull in the fanatical crowds for the IPL, they will always find ways to bring more money from more sponsers into their coffers. So long as the rules allow a competitive Indian side in 50 and 20 over cricket, then they and the rest of the screaming Indian nation will be happy. If the ICC put their foot down and alienate the BCCI for the good of Test cricket, then they will lose a lot of their own revenue from a billion cricket fans, and the long-term future of the entire game looks bleak.

Talk about a rock and a hard place

RM

Going Up Top: The NFL Season so Far

One of the problems with the extended hiatus of BtC is that we have got behind with some of the more important sporting events in recent times. After a pre-season that for all intents and purposes appeared to be heading towards stalemate with the furore over the negotiations for a new CBA, the NFL returned with very little time for teams to prepare themselves for the attrition ahead.

As ever, we are looking to count down the top 5 performances from each week's play on the gridiron. However, for catch-up purposes, here are the top 5 performers so far as we each call it:

Ryan's Top 5

5. Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin (Eagles) - 22 tackles, 11 sacks, 1 FF between them. For a team at 1-3, it may seem unusual to pick a couple of D-Linemen, but then you forget how bad Philly were against the pass last season. The Dream Team tag has been shot out of the water, as Andy Reid's men have proven that building through free agency is not the way to win a Superbowl. However, Jenkins from the Packers and Babin from the Titans appear to be much better business that star CB Nnamdi Asomugha, who just does not seem to fit into the Eagles' scheme. Maybe time will change things. For now, the D-Line is proving to be extremely effective against the pass. The inexperienced LBs and secondary are like a colander against the run. Sort it out.

4. Cam Newton (Panthers) - 1,386 yards, 5 TDs, 5 INTs. He's an entertainer. He's an icon. He's 1-3 as well. But hey, who deserves praise just for winning? It's not as though Carolina have no running game - DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are more than capable of carrying the football and pounding out the yards. But the faith that the Panthers have shown in the No.1 overall draft pick has more than been rewarded. The former Auburn QB has a big arm, more accurate than many of us thought, with the ability to scramble out of the pocket for positive yards as well. He's not been perfect, but then he's playing in a terrible team. The potential that he's shown must have the fans in Charlotte licking their lips.

3. Wes Welker (Patriots) - 40 receptions, 616 yards, 5 TDs. The Pats offense has been on fire. Save for a surprise second half implosion to the Bills where Tom Brady threw 4 INTs obviously, but even then you cannot take away from the effect that Wes has had. On that day alone, he had over 200 receiving yards and remains a nightmare matchup in the slot. God knows how he does it, lacking in the physical attributes that some of the other players in this countdown do (hint hint No.1...), but Welker has truly stepped up to be Brady's go-to guy since Randy Moss moved on.

2. Darren McFadden (Raiders) - 75 carries, 465 yards, 3 TDs. Finally, an Oakland first-round pick who came good. There is hope yet for Darrius Heyward-Bey. McFadden really is the Oakland offense, given the limited capabilities of Jason Campbell and the lack of any really consistent receivers. They may only be 2-2 but McFadden has stood tall and made big plays with pace, power and an eye for the holes in other defences. Which, given the limited preparation time in pre-season, there have been plenty of!

1. Calvin Johnson (Lions) - 24 receptions, 321 yards, 8 TDs. A beast. There is no other way to describe him. Given his towering frame, it has been easy for Matthew Stafford to find his favourite target in the endzone over and over again. It's basically like a basketball game. Detroit are 4-0 thanks to two ludicrous comebacks from Stafford and his offense, the highlight of which was a 24 point turnaround on Sunday against the Cowboys, where Megatron managed to haul the ball in for six whilst in triple coverage. A secondary's nightmare. More or less than 25 TDs when the season is over? If Stafford stays healthy, who knows what might happen in Motown? And let's be honest, who would grudge them any success?

And You All Thought We Were Dead

Sometimes a break is the best thing in life. Take the sabbatical that Michael Yardy took after the cricket World Cup - look how much closer he is to the England squad after... oh hang on a second.

This is a little different. Various life commitments over the past few months have meant that Graeme and I haven't managed to spend a lot of time talking sport. A lack of Internet and Sky Sports further hampered us during August (never get Virgin Media, ever - especially when moving flat). Add in long working hours and you get the picture.

However, I believe the time is right for a relaunch. Look out for more BtC blog posts in the coming weeks, including the much loved (well we enjoyed it) RedZone feature, coverage from the closing stages of the Rugby World Cup and, inevitably, cricket. We may even get a few more live blogs in as well, so joyfully un-PC were the previous efforts. After 18 months of work, it'd be a shame to disappear completely.

To this end, I have created a Twitter account @BtCliche. Please follow us for little snippets of sarcasm and vitriol in a sporting context for those times when we just can't manage to give a full blow by blow analysis of the latest thig annoying us about Scottish football.

Much love, and if you actually ever read this blog - please follow it, just so we know that it's not just the two of us and our parents (and worryingly enough our girlfriends' parents - that gave me a shock...)reading it.

RM

The River Of Dreams

Winning Wimbledon is not just a British obsession. Witness Novak Djokovic winning the title today and dropping to his knee's to literally taste the grass of SW19.

The post-match, on-court interviews really struck me this year. Usually, I do not care for the practise of immediately badgering a response out of an either elated or despondant sportsman; nothing interesting is ever said. Today, though, the candour with which both Djokovic and defeated Rafa Nadal spoke was genuinely uplifing. The Serb staded that Wimbledon had always been his dream, and that he thought he may still be asleep. So he sleepwalked his way through that final then?

Djokovic was often brilliant, sometimes inspired and always composed throughout the 4 sets. His play in the 2nd set in particular was the best tennis on display at this year's championships. He had tactics, targetting Nadal's backhand service returns and cross court game, and he executed them flawlessly. Combine that with his talented offensive game; something that has come on tremendously in the past half year. Before, I have stated that Andy Murray needed to get to Djokovic's level of consistency to have any chance of winning Grand Slam's. This view is now too harsh on Djokovic; his game is still consistency, but in a manner that nobody else in world tennis is now able to stand up to. He is now an overpowering force, as opposed to a reactionary one like Murray. His elevation to World Number 1 is undoubtedly deserved, and adds another interesting twist to the men's scene.

(Plus, his victory means that I predicted the winner correctly from Day 1. Which has literally never happened before.)

I give a great deal of praise to Nadal as well. I think that his foot injury was impeding him in the later stages more than he showed outwardly. However, without regard to any of this speculation, he was outplayed and beaten today. And he accepted it with the grace and humility of a real champion. We are truly fortunate to have tennis players and men of the calibre of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. The crowd certainly knew this; the cheers for Nadal in defeat were if anything louder than for the victor. I was genuinely a little moved by his respectful behaviour and connection with the crowd. He will be back, and they will cheer him again.

GM

He Didn't Start The Fire

Vladimir Klitschko is certainly a good fireman, smothering David Haye's 'over-zealous' challenges with ease last night in Hamburg.



(For today only, my posts will be using Billy Joel songs as titles)

The Ukrainian's unanimous points victory can be considered a successful night's work. Ultimately, questions over Klitschko's ability to excite an audience were of less importance to him than shutting up ill-recieved challenges to his reputation. He put together yet another solid display of strategic boxing, and reaped the rewards. This still does not make him a thrilling boxer to watch, or even a particularly memorable one, but it reinforces once and for all the fact that he is a great talent nonetheless (seriously, he looks like that, and he still got with Hayden Panettiere. That certainly took talent).

David Haye can be a lot less pleased with how things went. Seriously, after all of that pre-fight hype, to lose on points in a foreign land is his worst case scenario. It has cost him his belt, and with it his shot at a lasting legacy.

I forgive Haye's brash behaviour in the leadup to this bout. It, by hook or by crook, got people interested in the match. I do not think that Haye is genuinely a jerk; he has merely recognised that playing the bad guy would be good for bigging up the event. Frankly, it is the way he earned the 50% of the total fight revenue he eventually secured. If he wants to tarnish his name for the sake of money, then that's his choice. It is at his doorstep, after all, not ours (as Brit's).



I do not, though, appreciate a fighter who does not live up to his word. Haye was more defensive than Klitschko for almost all of the 12 rounds. He demonstrated no ability to breach the Ukrainian's defences early on, or to deliver hits of real power, and failed to take risks as the fight developed. Surely he could see that, without an aggressive approach from start to finish, he was always prey to the judge's whims. All his slips and falls, whether tactical or otherwise, certainly didn't help his image in the scorers' eyes.

I fail to see exactly what Haye actually did during his months of training. Too often he threw horrible, full arm club swing hooks; rarely did he connect with any strong shots to the head. And even as the 12 round dawned, he still refused to take the risks needed to get his hits in. At some point he must have realised that Klitschko's defence wasn't going to crack; that should have been the time he decided to become more aggressive, and sacrifice some of his defensive solidity in order to land the punches he needed to.

All in all, I am just glad I didn't pay to watch this.

(To be fair, the intro's, featuring Lennox Lewis and George Foreman, were pretty sweet)

GM