Michael Vick’s Preseason Success is Fool’s Gold

"I’m having fun playing football and I fell in love with the game again and I am thankful for that.” 

He looks it too, Vick has been outstanding this preseason. Through two games Vick is 13 of 15 for 199 yards, one TD, one interception and a passer rating of 113.1. His preseason performance is reminiscent of his first year with former Eagles coach Andy Reid. That year Vick was a rejuvenated by a new coach and a new system as well.

To understand Vick’s early success we have to unpack Chip Kelly’s offensive system. Kelly has simplified Vick’s responsibilities at the line of scrimmage by minimizing the amount of information the quarterback has to process.

Speed in Kelly’s system isn’t only about how fast the team gets to the line of scrimmage to snap the ball. The reads the quarterback make are fast and definitive. When the quarterback approaches line he has a series of options to choose from based on what the defense shows him.

Chris Brown of Grantland covers this in great detail. “This concept, known in coaching circles as "packaged" or "combo" plays, resulted in two of the Eagles' three touchdowns against the Patriots (one run, one pass) and was especially useful when the Eagles went to their fastest no-huddle tempo. The idea behind the play, like so many of Kelly's concepts, is basic arithmetic: If the defense doesn't put two defenders over the outside receivers, the quarterback will throw a quick screen that direction; if they do line up those defenders outside, the offense should have favorable numbers to run the ball inside.”

The system is seemingly a perfect fit for Vick, who’s always been more of a reactive player than a proactive one. There’s just one problem, he’s yet to face a real defense. While preseason has its uses, this is not regular season football. Defenses aren’t showing their hands. Vick isn’t facing blitzes or disguised coverages. When that does happen, will he revert to his old habits?

Furthermore Vick’s quote about falling in love with the game again is troubling when you break it down. How many times have we seen stories about the rejuvenation of Michael Vick?  Vick is not a self-motivated athlete. He requires external motivation to be at his best; even then his enthusiasm and commitment eventually wane. Many believe that Chip Kelly used the Eagles quarterback competition as a tool to motivate Vick.  Does Tom Brady, Drew Brees or Peyton Manning need their coaches to motivate them in this way?

It’s very possible Michael Vick will have a great start to the 2013 season but it won’t last, Vick is the king of the sugar high. The media and his fans will rejoice shouting “Michael Vick is back and he’s playing the best football of his life”. It won’t last, it never does.  Michael Vick’s fiercest rival has never been on the other side of the ball, it’s behind center.

Kyrie Irving NASTY Shammgod Crossover On Defender

Vanderbilt’s Football Players Run Like Schoolchildren To Ice Cream Truck After Practice(Video)

Vanderbilt football coach James Franklin is always finding new ways to excite his players. This time around, it was as simple as calling up a local ice cream vendor.

The Commodores’ YouTube account posted a video today of the football team running like schoolchildren to an ice cream truck that was brought in after practice. It’s pretty funny to see such physical specimens getting this pumped about frozen dessert.

Did A-Rod Snitch on Ryan Braun and a Teammate?

A new bombshell was dropped in the Biogenesis scandal surrounding New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and this one is a doozy. ESPN is reporting that members of Rodriguez’s inner circle leaked the names of Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun and his own teammate, Francisco Cervelli, to the media in connection with Biogenesis. 

Read more: Yardbarker

Ndamukong Suh Obliterates Trent Richardson

It may be preseason, but Ndamukong Suh is in mid season form. Richardson bounces outside, turns the corner and is blindsided by Suh. The play is a great sign for both men, for Richardson he's showing that he can bounce back from a big hit, for Suh it's a sign of returning to form after a disappointing season last year.

5 Hottest Pics of Derek Jeter's Fiance, Hannah Davis.

Direct TV genie, Sports Illustrated model and now (possibly) the future wife of sport's most eligible bachelor.

Derek Jeter engaged to Hannah Davis?

This comes via the Daily News, so take it with a few tons of salt. It seems believable, though, and if true, it means Derek Jeter is engaged to Hannah Davis.

 The Yankees great and perennial bachelor was spotted coming out of a Manhattan Starbucks Wednesday afternoon with his Sports Illustrated swimsuit model girlfriend, Hannah Davis, who was wearing a diamond ring just a bit smaller than a catcher’s mitt on her left ring finger. Further digging shows that Davis has been sporting the giant gem since July, when she shined bright at a Miami fashion show.

RG3 Uses Local Man's Pool to rehab.

Full disclaimer I'm a cowboys fan. So simply ignore the fact that the Redskins didn't prepare an adequate enough facility in Richmond,Va(my home town) to allow their Qb to properly rehab.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way. This is the heartwarming tale of a superstar quarterback reaching out to the community and the community embracing him right back.

Out of the blue Leesburg native, Lee Kestler receiver an email from RG3 himself. “I got an email from Colin at HydroWorx, and it says Robert Griffin III – please call me,” Lee Kestler told Gregg Mace from ABC 27 in Harrisburg. “And I showed it to my friends at the table, and I said ‘Look at this spam e-mail that I just got about Robert Griffin.’ I said, ‘I can’t believe I’m getting this, I’ll deal with it when I get back.

“Robert had started doing some training at  Dr. Andrews,” Kestler went on. “They were going to put some pools in at Redskins Park. They’re trying to train in pools, now, that are public pools – Landsdowne Resort is an example – but he’s continually getting mobbed by people. And he loves the fans, but they also need to be able to focus. And because you have a pool and you’re the closest one to Redskins Park, and we’d like to keep Robert local, would you be interested in allowing Larry Hess and Robert to come to the house and train in the pool? And I said, ‘Well, I’ll think about it.’”

And of course Kestler allowed Griffin to use his pool like any good fan would. One more reason why I can't wait for the season to start: I'm seek of these off the field RG3 updates, ugh.

RG3's Dad Calls Running QB's losers

 Robert Griffin II isn't shy when it comes to critiquing the Washington Redskins play calling and usage of his son. In May, the elder Griffin told the Washington Post he wanted to see his son throw the football "a lot" more this season and he double down on those comments and went a step further in the last issue of GQ magazine. 

"You tell a kid that you want him to be there for fourteen years, guess what?  Historical data will tell you that the more he runs, the more subject he is to career injury.  You name one quarterback out there that would rather run the football than throw the football and I'll show you a loser."

Strong words. Overall RG2 is looking out for the well being of RG3. However, he isn't doing him any favors. Griffin already created a mini-drama this week when he questioned Redskins coach Mike Shanahan's time table for his return.  

Both Griffins, father and son would be wise if they stopped airing their grievances publicly.

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There are no words

Pole Dancing as an Olympic Sport??

  

Don't laugh it could happen. Strip club owners The sport's organizers are working hard change the sport's image. 

"We're trying to be stricter here and become respected as a sport," said Florenza Pizanis, 43, a pole-dancing coach in Dortmund, Germany, and head of the International Pole Sports Federation's technical committee, which wrote the rules and applied them for the first time at the London championships

Among the written regulations: no dancing "in an overtly erotic manner"—banned, for example, is "gluteal dance"—and no "hats, canes and anything that is not considered attached to the costume."

Haha, gluteal dance?? Without gluteal dancing I'm not sure how fun any of this will be as a spectator sport. Organizers have also written a rule book that gives code names to compulsory moves, specifies scoring methodology and bans pole-dancing staples such as removable articles of clothing. And they'd like people to call their event "pole sports" now.

Just a suggestion, they may want to ban names like Candi, Cinnamon, and Misty as well.

Investigators believe Aaron Hernadez’s fiancé Shayanna Jenkins got rid of evidence

During EX-NFL player Aaron Hernandez’s arraignment, the prosecution mentioned that Hernandez’a fiancé, Shayanna Jenkins was cooperating with the police until he demanded she stop speaking with them. Fast forward to two months later, and now investigators believe Jenkins may have hidden evidence and guns in a storage after Odin Lloyd’s body was discovered.

Read more: Yardbarker

Jacksonville Jaguars WR Justin Blackmon escorted off field vs. Dolphins

Justin Blackmon isn't even playing for the Jaguars because of an injury, but that didn't stop him from getting into it with the opponents.

AP Writer Mark Long first reported the incident involving Blackmon that eventually resulted in Blackmon being escorted into the locker room. Blackmon was on the sidelines yelling back and forth with Miami Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll despite the fact that Blackmon wasn’t even playing Friday night.

Jaguars coach Gus Bradley had to get involved and separated Blackmon from the scene and had running back Maurice Jones-Drew escort Blackmon off the field and into the locker room to help him calm down and defuse the situation.
Things settled down after halftime and Blackmon was allowed to return to the field and was seen on the sidelines reconciling with Bradley. Bradley and Blackmon met after the game to discuss the incident but only Bradley was available for comment after the game. Bradley said in the post-game press conference “Sometimes a player talks to the sideline. It started off as just banter and I just addressed it”.

It is only a blip on the radar but holds even more significance for Blackmon who needs to start avoiding trouble and the headlines. The talent is there to be a very good receiver but if issues like this keep occurring he will have a hard time finding the field.

JR Smith Dyes his Hair Blonde, Knicks Coach Mike Woodson Demands He Change it Back.

The always Mercurial JR Smith is in the news again. This time for pulling a Dennis Rodman. Blonde Hair(check), body covered in tats.(check) All he needs now is to date a slutty pop star and his transformation will be complete.(I hear Miely Cyrus is available)

For what it's worth Knicks coach Mike Woodson expressed his displeasure with Smith's new do and Smith is reportedly going to change it back to its natural state.

Chris Johnson Nearly Jukes Redskins Rookie Out of his Cleats.

A preseason game is only as valuable as the amount of snaps the starters play. If I'm a redskins fan, I wouldn't push the panic button just yet, but if you're a Titans fan it's got to be good to seen Chris johnson show flashes of his former self.

12 Year Old Loses Final Jeopardy Due To a Spelling Error

Twelve year old Thomas Hurley won’t win any spelling bees anytime soon. Hurley came into the Final Jeopardy portion of the show in second place before he was asked which document Abraham Lincoln said was a “fit and necessary war measure”

The correct answer is the Emancipation Proclamation, but there’s where things went wrong for Hurley. Hurley knew the correct answer,but badly mangled the spelling of the famous document spelling it Emanciptation Proclamation.

Trebek informed the pre-teen that he would not receive credit for his answer because he “spelled it badly”. When Trebek moved on to the last contestant, he was sure to point out that not only did the young man have the correct answer, but he also spelled it correctly.

Despite airing last Wednesday, the outrage has grown on social media, with viewers flooding the show's Facebook page. Fueling the fire, Hurley’s father called host Alex Trebek “smug". His son Thomas also expressed his displeasure with the ruling. "I was pretty upset that I was cheated out of the final `Jeopardy!' question. It was just a spelling error,'' said the Newtown Middle School student, who won $2,000 as the second runner-up.

My Take:The kid needs to suck it up, I’m pretty sure the rules were spelled out(no pun intended) in advance. Kids today are so coddled, they believe that they should be the exception to the rules. It’s a good life lesson. Besides the kid in first place had 36,000 to Hurley’s 9,000, making it virtually impossible for Hurley to catch up. Suck it up kid this to shall pass.



Mark Cuban Releases Superman Themed Pitch Video Mavericks Used To Woo Dwight Howard (VIDEO)

Just when you thought the Dwight Howard saga was over, Mark Cuban released this little nugget on his website this A.M.  Give Cuban points for creativity. The video, part goofy, almost inspiring, plays on Howard's affinity for the man of steel.

We see a young Howard sent to earth via space shuttle, eventually growing into the next NBA superstar. The comic book styled video uses real play-by-play calls and pictures of Howard, Cuban and Dirk Nowitzki celebrating back-to-back titles.

It's a fun video despite the sycophantic ego stroking.

Jadeveon Clowney Flips Blocking Sled in Practice (VIDEO)

John Wall says video of his Full court self alley-oop is real.

John Wall appeared as a guest on the Dan Patrick Show this morning. After asking a few perfunctory questions  guest host Chris Mannix asked Wall if the above video was real. 

" Yeah, it's real you just have to throw the ball real high, it's not something you can do on the first try but I can do it."

The video looks fake to me, however I took another look at it after the Wall interview and if you follow the path of the ball it's possible that the video is real. Also Wall would look silly if he lied, and it's always a mistake to underestimate how athletic these guys are.

More concerning than the video claim is Wall's claim that he's the best point guard in the NBA.(also in the interview) He'd be better served working on his jumper this offseason than showboat exhibitions like this.

Kansas City Cheif Offensive Coordinator Calls Alex Smith The Best QB In The NFL

“Ultimately, every team has to have a quarterback,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson said, via Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star. “I think we have the best in the league.”

“There are a lot of great ones,” Pederson said, “but over time, Alex has proven he can get it done. He’s a sharp guy, he brings a wealth of knowledge, he’s experienced, he’s a proven winner the last couple of years, and he needs a team to embrace him.”

H/T: Pro Football Talk

Aaron Hernadez Sends Jailhouse Letter To A Fan.

H/T: TMZ