by Cory Woodroof | Sep 9, 2014 | Opinion, Sports
Hello, NFL fans! Football nerd Cory Woodroof here. I’d like to welcome you into The Film Session, a new recap of the week in the NFL that will be published every Tuesday here on the site. I’ll always offer you 10 of my takeaways from the week, go over the power rankings and give my player of the week. Also, I’ll highlight five games that have me excited for the week ahead. Shall we begin? Week one in the NFL is always one of the sports’ best times, but it’s also one of the worst times to be gauging a team’s future success (or lack-thereof). Think back to last year. Could any of us predict that, after week one, the Chiefs were back in business? How about that the Texans were on track to pick number one in the 2014 draft? We may get small hints of this and that, but there’s still a long season ahead. So, if your team won a big one, congrats, but don’t get too comfortable. And, if your team is struggling, don’t lose hope. The best coaches can always make adjustments and get their teams back to business. This week, a few teams got back to playing like they’re known for playing, a few surprise teams handed defeats to some of the league’s best and Peyton Manning was Peyton Manning. Here are my top 10 takeaways from the first week of the season. If there’s such a thing as the “Super Bowl Slump,” don’t tell the Seattle Seahawks. In a complete home field pummeling of the Green Bay Packers, the reigning champions proved...
by Aaron Schmelzer | Jan 16, 2013 | Opinion, Sports
Four teams have earned their right to compete in the conference championships this weekend. On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers visit the Atlanta Falcons, and the New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens. On the NFC side, the San Francisco 49ers are making their second straight conference championship game appearance. The bigger story this year, however, is the change in quarterback for the 49ers. Colin Kaepernick took over for the previously injured Alex Smith in Week 10 and quarterbacked the 49ers to a tie versus the St. Louis Rams. It was assumed that head coach Jim Harbaugh would keep Smith as the starter after he was healthy, but Harbaugh stood beside Kaepernick. With a 5-2 record under Kaepernick as QB, Harbaugh did not become a Monday morning quarterback. Kaepernick led San Francisco to the second overall seed in its conference and a first-round bye. Questions loomed over the young quarterback as to how he would play in his playoff debut. Kaepernick did not disappoint, as he rushed for 181 yards – an all-time record for a quarterback in a single game. The 49ers toppled the Packers to cement their spot in the conference championship game. A winless record in the playoffs for the Atlanta Falcons since 2004 followed the team last Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks came to town, riding a 6-game winning streak. The Falcons comfortably led 20-0 walking into the locker room at halftime but watched their lead crumble as Seattle scored 28 unanswered points, eventually leading 28-27 with less than a minute in the game. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan drove the offense into field goal...
by Logan Butts | Nov 9, 2012 | Opinion, Sports
The 2012 NFL season has already provided for more truly memorable moments than entire seasons have in the past. Due in large part to the presence of the mostly incompetent ‘replacements refs’ through the league’s brief referee lockout, the first half of the season has been equal parts enthralling and chaotic. There have been overtimes, converted onside kicks, last-second ‘Hail Mary’s, controversial calls and even a sequel to the ‘Music City Miracle’ – all of that coming from the Titans 44-41 victory over the Lions during week three. A brawl almost broke out in the Rams-Redskins game. The Panthers have been running the option with Cam Newton. If Bill Belichick had ripped off his sleeveless hoodie to reveal a Patriots uniform underneath and caught a game-winning touchdown pass from Ton Brady, I would not have been the least-bit surprised. Not only were the games extremely entertaining, but the storylines were as intriguing as ever. Peyton Manning has reclaimed his spot on the league’s Mount Rushmore of quarterbacks, while rookie Robert Griffin III is making a case for his inclusion. The two pre-season Super Bowl favorites, the Packers and the Patriots, did not have a winning record through week six. The presumably lowly Cardinals were undefeated going into their fifth game. The ‘Bountygate’ punishments handed out to the winless Saints have proven to be worse than the experts previously thought. On top of all that, SportsCenter has barely mentioned New York Jets QB Tim Tebow for the last few weeks, which has to be some sort of record. To celebrate the madness that has occurred throughout the first half of the...
