In CBCSports.ca’s weekly chatter, Jason Davidson and Tony Care debate Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz’s understanding of the rule book, Ndamukong Suh’s groin kick, the prospects of Alex Smith getting his job back, and the Baltimore Ravens’ incredible 4th-and-29 conversion.Â
In CBCSports.ca’s weekly chatter, Jason Davidson and Tony Care debate Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz’s understanding of the rule book, Ndamukong Suh’s groin kick, the prospects of Alex Smith getting his job back, and the Baltimore Ravens’ incredible 4th-and-29 conversion.
On Thanksgiving, Detroit coach Jim Schwartz challenged a Houston touchdown. But since all touchdowns are reviewed, Schwartz received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and wiped out the review, which would’ve clearly been overturned. Schwartz said that he knew the rule but simply overreacted in tossing the challenge flag. Do you believe him?
Jason Davidson: I do believe him. He’s an NFL head coach, he should know the rules. Once again, Schwartz got sidetracked by his own emotions, and as a result, the Texans end up with a TD that shouldn’t have counted and the Lions go on to lose the game. Remember Week 3? Schwartz has a ‘miscommunication’ with his offence on a fourth-and-1 deep in Tennessee territory. End result? Titans go on to win in overtime. Detroit is 4-7, they could just as easily be 6-5 and in contention for a wildcard. Not only are the fans in Motown frustrated, so is defensive co-ordinator Gunther Cunningham.
In that same game, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh kicked Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in the groin while he was falling down to the turf. Given Suh’s penchant for dirty play, did he really mean to kick his Schaub?
Jason Davidson: Yes, he meant to do it. Suh is a dirty player, plain and simple. This is the second straight year where Suh has pulled a stunt like this on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field. Last year, he stomped on Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and got tossed from the game. A costly penalty at the time as it occurred in the Lions’ red zone. I’m sure even his teammates are getting tired of his act now. Suh avoided a suspension although he may get fined. Next time Suh goes off the handle, don’t expect NFL disciplinarians to be as forgiving.
With a healthy Alex Smith ready to go, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh opted to remain with QB Colin Kaepernick, who led San Francisco’s victory against the Saints. Does this spell the end for Smith?
Tony Care: I doubt it. I think the reason Harbaugh went with Kaepernick is that he always knows what he has in Smith – a game manager who can’t rally his team from a significant deficit. Kaepernick offers big plays, a big arm and is a threat to reel off a huge run. Besides, Smith is the type of QB that won’t be affected if Harbaugh has to go back to him should Kaepernick struggle. He’s definitely been benched enough times over the years.
The Baltimore Ravens converted on an incredible 4th-and-29 to extend a last-minute, fourth-quarter drive en route to a victory over the listless San Diego Chargers in overtime. Was this a great run by Ravens RB Ray Rice or some bad defence on the part of the Chargers?
Tony Care: This was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen on a football field. Ravens QB Joe Flacco all but conceded the game when he dumped the ball off to Rice, who then broke at least four tackles to get the first down. How coach Norv Turner can actually be allowed to continue on after this debacle is beyond me. I can’t imagine president Dean Spanos tolerating this mess much longer, and that includes the employment of GM A.J. Smith.
Jason Davidson: You have to give Rice credit here, it was a fantastic play. One of the season’s best. He caught Joe Flacco’s short pass at the line of scrimmage and he made his way around the Bolts’ defence, which for most of the game, played pretty well. San Diego let this game get away from them in the fourth quarter. They blew a 13-3 lead with eight minutes to go in the game. Huge win for the Ravens to as they are on the verge of clinching the AFC North. They can do that this weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers. As for San Diego, Norv Turner will ride out the rest of the season and hope for a miraculous five-game winning streak to end the season respectably and keep his job. Not happening folks.
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Read MoreStrikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he never signed a bout agreement to fight Lorenz Larkin and never intended to fight at the promotion’s final event.
When officials announced the Jan. 12 event in early November, Rockhold (10-1 MMA, 9-0 SF) said he informed officials that a wrist injury lingered and that he was unable to fight.
That’s why he’s particularly irritated by a series of verbal attacks from Lorenz Larkin (13-0 MMA, 4-0 SF) regarding his willingness to compete.
“He was obviously misinformed to some extent,” Rockhold said. “I’ve been in that situation, but just to lash out at me, that’s pretty amateur.”
Larkin, who today addressed his grievances with MMAjunkie.com Radio, was twice scheduled to vie for the title before injuries interceded.
“I just feel like guys are acting like they haven’t paved any way for them to go to the UFC and a catastrophe could happen on Jan. 12, where [UFC President Dana White is] going to be like, ‘No. I didn’t like the way you fought, and you’re not going to come over,’” Larkin said.
Rockhold, however, said the UFC wasn’t a part of his decision. He noticed his injury eight weeks prior to a fight scheduled for a Nov. 3 event and announced his withdrawal two weeks later.
“Every time I would grip something, it would be a sharp pain,” he said. “I’d punch wrong, and it would make me want to cry.”
Rockhold saw multiple doctors and had several MRIs done on his wrist. Training never completely resumed.
Four weeks ago, he underwent a blood therapy called PRP (platelet-rich plasma) to speed the healing process on what was diagnosed as a tear to his triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) and ligament sprain. He also spent three weeks in a hard cast, which was removed this past week.
“I don’t take steroids, so I don’t know if I can heal as fast as some of these guys,” Rockhold said. “I do things the way I know how.”
Strikeforce and broadcast partner Showtime dually announced the Jan. 12 event with three title fights: lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez vs. Pat Healy, Rockhold vs. Larkin, and welterweight champ Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine.
Melendez earlier this month withdrew from the event, later titled “Strikeforce: Champions,” citing a nagging shoulder injury. News of Rockhold’s withdrawal became public over the weekend.
Rockhold believes the confusion over his status may stem from a conversation with Strikeforce officials following his first injury in which he gave a timeline for his readiness to fight.
“They never really got back to me, and they just thought I’d be ready, and I wasn’t able to get on it,” he said. “I don’t really know. I don’t really want to get into it, to tell you the truth. I wasn’t able to train.
“They announced the fight, and I immediately called and told them how I felt and now here we are. They wanted to make a date happen, and I know they want to get done with this thing probably as much as anybody else, and for some reason they have to put on a last card. Pushing this card hard, it seems like. I just wasn’t able to make the date at that time.”
Relations between Strikeforce parent Zuffa and Showtime steadily have deteriorated since a March meeting between UFC President Dana White and Showtime officials. White said he was “hands-off” with Strikeforce after his input on the look of the event was nixed.
Two Strikeforce events have been canceled due to high-profile injury withdrawals that prompted Showtime to decline low-wattage events.
With the promotion’s final event slated for January, Rockhold won’t defend the belt he won with a September 2011 decision over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. But he stressed that he didn’t withdraw from the event because he had designs on starting anew in the UFC once Strikeforce folded.
“That was not any part of my thought process,” Rockhold said. “I’m injured. I want to get paid. I want to shut Lorenz’s mouth. I’m not waiting in any shape or form for the UFC. You can never count on that happening. I’ve heard that in the past, and I’m not going to wait for that to happen.
“I have a lot of things I want to do in my life. This has set me back. I was going to buy a house, and now it looks like I’m going to wait until I’m more financially stable. I want to fight, plain and simple. It doesn’t matter who. Except at this point, after the talk, obviously I’m partial to fighting Lorenz.”
The feeling isn’t mutual for Larkin, who said he wants to move on.
Rockhold doesn’t hold that against the middleweight contender. He estimated he’ll be ready to return in three to four months after completely healing his wrist. He is unconcerned with the location of the next bout.
“I’d be completely happy with the UFC, but I just want to fight and get paid,” he said. “I want to be best in the world. Eventually, whether it’s here or there, I want those fights.”
For more on “Strikeforce: Champions,” stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.
Read MoreNdamukong Suh can’t seem to avoid trouble on the football field. The same can be said when the Detroit Lions defensive tackle is behind the wheel.
WJBK-TV reported Monday that Suh was ticketed in Lathrup Village, Mich., on Nov. 15 for “failure to use due care and caution.” The case hasn’t made its way to court, however, and it’s unclear if charges will be filed.
According to the TV station, sources said a Lathrup Village police officer spotted a black Land Rover driving at a high rate of speed, passing multiple cars in the right lane. As the right lane was coming to an end, Suh allegedly cut off another car, nearly causing an accident.
The officer pulled over Suh and cited him, but Lathrup Village police chief William Armstrong said he’s reviewing the dash-cam video of the incident. The officer who cited Suh has a reputation for being aggressive about writing tickets, according to Armstrong.
“The charges that were issued on the ticket, we’re looking to make sure the charges fit,” said Armstrong, who added that he doesn’t necessarily agree with the charges but plans to meet with the city attorney Tuesday about the case.
If charges are filed, this will become Suh’s fourth known traffic-related incident dating to his senior season at Nebraska. He was involved in a minor fender-bender in October.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.
Read MoreWisely taking care of her own health, Jessica Alba headed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills on Monday (November 26).
The “Sin City” star wore a black dress, long black vest, black stockings, and gray boots as she headed inside.
Recently, the 31-year-old actress has been taking advantage of the busy holiday shopping season to promote supporting small businesses.
Last week she tweeted, “I’m going to #shopsmall in support of Small Business Saturday this weekend. RT and share where you’re going to @ShopSmall #adv.” Of course the savvy entrepreneur also took the opportunity to plug her own brand of natural and eco-friendly family products, The Honest Company.
Enjoy the pictures of Jessica Alba out in Beverly Hills (November 26).
It took a little longer than expected for Eli Manning to break Phil Simms career record for touchdown passes by a New York Giants quarterback.
But Manning was back to something resembling the form with which he had great success in the early part of the season.
After a three-week touchdown drought, he led the Giants to a dominant win over the Green Bay Packers.
What are the three things that Manning did best based on our advanced statistical review?
Threw the ball inside: Manning succeeded in hitting his receivers on throws in between the painted numbers. He was 10-for-16 for 182 yards with all three of his touchdowns on those throws.
Manning was able to complete throws inside the numbers at a similar rate (61 percent) during his slump, but he failed to net big gains on those throws, averaging 10.6 yards per completion.
The three touchdown throws helped his touchdown-to-interception ratio. Entering the game, he had seven touchdowns and five interceptions on those passes in 2012.
Third-Down Success: Manning had been mediocre on third down in the three games prior to this one, completing 12 of his 29 throws, with a pair of interceptions. But on Sunday night, he was near perfect. Manning went 6-for-7 for 82 yards and three touchdowns on third down.
The three touchdowns matched his career-best for a regular season game. He had three third-down touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers in 2006.
Shotgun: Manning was 8-for-10 for 92 yards and three touchdowns on his throws out of shotgun. He had gone 38-for-70 in it over his previous three games, with three interceptions and six sacks.
Elias Stat of the Day: Manning now has 200 touchdown passes, one more than Simms did in his Giants career. He is the fourth-quickest to 200 touchdown throws among active quarterbacks (132 games). Eli’s brother got their fastest– 106 games.
Read MoreJon Bon Jovi’s Daughter
Thankful
She Isn’t Behind Bars
Stephanie Rose Bongiovi spent her Thanksgiving weekend in the Hamptons with papa Jon … and not in a jail cell following her arrest earlier this month.Â
As TMZ first reported, the 19-year-old was arrested after allegedly overdosing on heroin in a college dorm on November 14 … but the D.A. dropped all charges.Â
Hopefully the only thing she overdosed on this weekend … was carbs.