n-field batting practice. "We expect him to be ready for opening day," Anthopoul

We are at that point of the NFL season that reality has arrived. Each team has played at least 10 games and after this much time and this much football, each organization realizes they are either refining, retooling or rebuilding. 1. Refining - Youre in the hunt for the playoffs and from week to week just trying to improve a little bit to make a big difference. 2. Re-tooling - Youre a good team but not great. You still have problems and aspirations but to conquer the problem and reach the aspirations, a specific change still has to happen.3. Rebuilding - Youre not a playoff team and the talent level is the reason why. Just not good enough. AFC East - At 7-3, New England is going to win the division. Truth is, they should be 8-2 as Luke Kuechly interfered in the end zone. To me, Buffalo and the Jets are refining. Both depend on continued progressive improvement of their quarterbacks, EJ Manuel in Buffalo and Geno Smith in New York. Miami is rebuilding. At 5-5, they are tied with the Jets for second but must look at themselves inside and out before they will be a championship team. AFC North - The Bengals are on their way. At 7-4, they should win the division and being undefeated at home, all games have meaning for the rest of the season. At 4-6, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and even Baltimore are rebuilding. To become a wild card team, each of the three must win their six remaining games to get at least 10 wins. Very unlikely. AFC South - The Colts are going to win the division and nobody in the AFC South is going to catch them. Tennessee has four wins and no Jake Locker. Houston has two wins and no quarterback consistency. And with one win, Jacksonville just doesnt want to be relocated to Los Angles or London. All three are rebuilding for 2014. AFC West - This is a very interesting division as the 4-6 Chargers could be one team to end up 10-6 and in the playoffs. Kansas City and Denver are on their way, especially the 9-1 Broncos are close to being at Sports Authority Field (Mile High Stadium) through out the playoffs. There are two competitive obstacles and hurdles in the next two weeks (at New England and at Kansas City). Oakland is an unknown, rebuilding team but by the end of this year, their salary cap problems should be behind them and that is significant. NFC East - I would not be surprised at all if the Eagles won the division with the Giants a close second. Philadelphia has found a quarterback in Nick Foles and this week is their bye week. With five games to go, the Eagles control their football destiny. The Giants have very quietly won four in a row and if they can beat Dallas this week, they can catch up significantly in head-to-head division games. Dallas is running out of healthy players on defence. Of the 11 penciled in as starters during training camp, the Cowboys may have only four left depending on linebacker Sean Lee. Washington is 3-7 with San Francisco up next. If they win the next six games, that means a 9-7 record and no playoffs. All four teams in the NFC East are rebuilding but someone has to win the division! NFC North - The only team that is rebuilding in this division is the Vikings. At 2-8, they are looking at a quarterback in the draft and how to keep Adrian Peterson effective for a few more years. In Green Bay, the question is how fast can Aaron Rodgers recover from a broken Collerbone? Problem is, that if he does not make it back soon, the 5-5 Packers could be close to out of the playoffs. Detriot and Chicago are the unknowns. Both are just refining from week to week and when you compare schedules, both are relatively easy. With the unknown of Rodgers health, this division is an unknown, but I lean to the Lions to win it all. NFC South - Its a two-team race between the Saints and Panthers. The two key dates are the head-to-head matchups December 8 at New Orleans and December 22 at Carolina. The Panthers are only one game behind the Saints and have won two close games over the 49ers and Patriots. Both are playoff teams that may be playing their best right now. Atlanta will be back when they get all their starters back. Next year will be a bounce back season but this season is done at 2-8. Tampa Bay is improving and as crazy as it may sound to some, I would not fire head coach Greg Schiano. He has his quarterback in Mike Glennon and will have his top running back Doug Martin and top guard Carl Nicks back next year. And Darrelle Revis will have a second recovery year under his knee. Stay the course if youre the Bucs. NFC West - The only team that is rebuilding in this division is St. Louis and outside of quarterback not even that much. With Percy Harvin back and only one close loss in Indianapolis, Seattle is close to rapping up the division soon. The Seahawks at home for two playoff games is lethal. They still have three tough games left(at New 0rleans, the 49ers and an improving Arizona team), but the Seahawks are looking good in December. The 49ers are up and down and the Cardinals have to win on defence. All of the top three teams are refining and improving. What was a poor division when the Seahawks made the playoffs at 7-9 is now one of the strongest. Fjallraven Kanken Italia .C. - Blair Jones scored the eventual winner in the third period as the Abbotsford Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Oil Barons 3-2 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Zaino Fjallraven Kanken Nero . -- The Oakland Raiders expect to have starting right tackle Tony Pashos back for Sundays game against the Houston Texans. Lien ICI . The Toronto Blue Jays general manager made a series of bold moves that reshaped the club ahead of what would turn out to be a disastrous 2013 campaign. Zaino Fjallraven Kanken Mini . It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. Zaino Fjallraven Saldi . - Whether its because of her improved play or the reason for it, Michelle Wie appears as comfortable on and off the golf course as at any time in her career.DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Toronto opening day starter R.A. Dickey gave up six runs and seven hits over three innings in the Blue Jays 10-6 victory over the New York Yankees Wednesday. The knuckleballer struck out two and walked four in his final spring training start before Mondays opener at Tampa Bay. Kelly Johnson had a two-run single in the first. Dean Anna hit an RBI double and Carlos Beltran drove in a pair with a double during a four-run second that put New York up 6-0. Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion got hit on the right lower arm by a pitch in the fifth and left the game. General manager Alex Anthopoulos said the first baseman has a bruise, but is fine. Derek Jeter walked, singled and lined out against Dickey. The Yankees captain was limited to 17 games last season after breaking his left ankle in the 2012 playoffs. JETER METER Jeter appears to be breaking out of his offensive funk. He singled in his final at-bat Tuesday, and is 7 for 49 (.143) overall. "We talked about it," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He hasnt played really in a year and a half. Timing is an issue, and its getting better every day. Hell have tomorrow off and then play the last two games." DICKEYS DOCKET Dickey was happy with his outing, despite the numbers. "Today was not a day about results," Dickey said. "What was paramount for me was to exercise my arm in a way where I felt good. I was able to use a large range of velocities and I mixed in pitches that I would never throw during the regular season. They put in their heads its another weapon that I might use on them later. So, I did exactly what I wanted to do." STARTING TIME Blue Jays: Manager John Gibbons announced that Drew Hutchison and Dustin McGowan haave made the starting rotation.dddddddddddd. Hutchison will start in Tuesdays game against the Rays. McGowan, who has battled shoulder problems since 2008, won the fifth starter spot and will pitch in the April 4th home opener with the Yankees. Yankees: Reliever Chris Leroux allowed two runs, including Brett Lawries second-inning solo homer, and five hits in three innings. He was hit in the leg by two infield singles in the third, but remained in the game. The Yankees will start lining up their rotation for the regular season Thursday when opening day starter CC Sabathia will pitch. No. 2 Hiroki Kuroda and No. 4 Masahiro Tanaka are scheduled to throw Friday, with No. 3 Ivan Nova taking the mound Saturday. Fifth starter Michael Pineda will start a minor league intrasquad game Sunday. TRAINERS ROOM Blue Jays: Shortstop Jose Reyes, who missed his fourth game due to left hamstring tightness, took on-field batting practice. "We expect him to be ready for opening day," Anthopoulos said. "He could DH Friday. Were going day to day with him and see how he feels." Yankees: Jacoby Ellsbury, out 1 1/2 weeks because of right calf tightness, played five innings in centre fielder during his second minor league game. He is expected to be ready for opening day. Designated hitter Alfonso Soriano played despite minor tightness in his right shoulder. MOVES Blue Jays: Josh Thole beat out Erik Kratz for the backup catcher spot and will catch Dickey opening day. "Im thrilled," Thole said. Its a big honour." Kratz was sent to the minor league camp. Outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo, claimed off waivers from Arizona last Friday, has been told that he will not make the opening day roster. ' ' '


Sujet écrit par yyys123 le mardi 6 août 2019 à 03:30

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