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- but gave the ball away cheaply on both occasions. A
For the rookie left tackle Terron Armstead of the New Orleans Saints, the worst is over. Rashan Gary Youth Jersey . Now that he has a game of NFL experience in his back pocket, his next game against Tampa Bay will be remarkably easier . Two quarterback sacks allowed and two illegal procedure penalties - all in the first half - showed that the risk Sean Payton took to start a complete rookie left tackle (with no positional playing experience) was not worth the possible reward. And come Monday morning Armstead knows he can play NFL football as long as he improves day-by-day - and that is a controllable desire. Overall, Armstead did okay. Not good, not bad - just okay. But its a building block of game experience the coaches have on video to work with . Now they can identify strengths and weaknesses and mold the Armstead so he can compete with Charles Brown for left tackle in 2014. Theres a lot of money on the table for both players to make as both try to achieve an NFL career and not just an NFL experience. The next left tackle of success goes to Patriot Logan Mankins - who played the position effectively replacing Nate Solder efficiently. Mankins is an NFL ‘tough guy - in a league full of them. He did play the position at Fresno State during college, but that was eight years ago. His ability to switch positions and play well was a significant reason the Patriots beat the Ravens so easily 41-7. Who is the best in the business? Well, you have a few to pick from. Tyron Smith from Dallas is probably the youngest and the best, while Justin Pugh of the Giants is also on his way to a great career. Trent Williams is the best on a losing team along with Duane Brown for Houston. King Dunlap for San Diego is the biggest rejuvenation of a career and DJ Fluker was the best first round draft pick. Joe Staley receives the least publicity with Panther Jordon Gross and there are others out there. Best value for example is Jordan Mills - a fifth round draft pick who has started every game. But the best? Jason Peters in Philadelphia. Watching him against Chicago, I marvel at his skill. In Denver, Payton Manning has now thrown 51 touchdown passes . Impressive when you consider only 10 interceptions and how congested the field gets the closer you get to the goal line. Manning makes careers and makes other players millions. Before he came to Denver, Eric Decker was good but not great. Julius Thomas was ‘just another guy and Brock Osweilier is getting an education of a lifetime. In Philadelphia, its hard to explain how the Eagles can score 48 one week and then come back and score 54. Cris Collinsworth did bring up an excellent point saying that time is a determining factor . There is running an offense and mastering an offense and the Eagles are oh so close to mastering the Chip Kelly way of doing things with the ball. The NFC winner will be decided on Sunday. Dallas did beat the Eagles 17-3 back on Oct. 20, but it seems that outside of the Minnesota meltdown, the Eagles have improved much more than Dallas in every way. In Green Bay, the talk this week and all week will be Aaron Rodgers and the risk vs. reward. If hes cleared and ready, its worth taking any risk. The chance that he will re-injure the collarbone is very minimal. When Shea McClellin tackled him, Rodgers was running in space and if he plays he wont do that again. This is a tough decision for Green Bay on a number of levels and one of them is game practice and speed. With the new collective bargaining agreement, it is harder than ever to duplicate game conditions - especially in Week 17 when practice is more work than at any point of the season. Personally I would not even try it - if the Packers got in through a division win they could be one and done. In another week, it will be Black Monday - the day that coaches lose jobs in a 48-hour cycle. Decisions have to be made with the Jets, Houston, Tennessee, Oakland, Washington and Detroit. I think a mitigating factor has to be Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati and Ron Rivera in Carolina. Both have been very close to the unemployment line and both will win divisions this year. Detroit and Washington I think are inevitable and Houston too. But with all else, it may be best to stay the course and that includes Minnesota and Tampa Bay and Dallas. Finally, and this question always comes up this time of year - Do players or teams quit on coaches or on each other? I seriously doubt they do as just making a team has a level of difficulty that is surreal, so why would you jeopardize something that was so difficult to create in the first place? Some things are difficult to explain - Miami losing 19-0 in Buffalo or KC losing to Indianapolis 23-7 at Arrowhead. Those can be traced to mind set and preparation, but to ‘quit - I find hard to believe. Happy Holidays, everyone. Aaron Rodgers Youth Jersey . Wearing bib No. 1, Maze skied through the gates cleanly to defend her big first-run lead and finish 0.07 seconds ahead of Anna Fenninger of Austria. Defending champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany was third, trailing 0. Clay Matthews Womens Jersey . In a pregame tribute commemorating his final contest at Coors Field on Wednesday night, Helton caught the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter with his wife, younger daughter and good friend Peyton Manning watching from the field.MONTREAL -- The last-place Montreal Impact are not making things easy on themselves. Montreal made two defensive mistakes -- one early and one late in the game -- to hand Sporting Kansas City a 2-1 victory at Saputo Stadium on Saturday. The game was tied 1-1 in the 89th minute when striker Dom Dwyer fired home his second of the evening to lead Kansas City to its third victory in its last four games. A seemingly straightforward defensive play quickly turned into bedlam for the Impact when defender Heath Pearce and goalkeeper Troy Perkins failed to clear a slow-rolling ball away from the 18-yard box. With just 90 seconds remaining in the game, Kansas City sent a harmless cross towards Montreals final third. Pearce let the ball bounce a couple of times, then turned to face Perkins as the ball rolled past him. Perkins tentatively left his net, and both players hesitated, expecting the other to clear it away. The brief uncertainty allowed substitute C.J. Sapong to poke the ball away from the Impact players and right into the path of a streaking Dwyer. The 23-year-old pounced on the loose ball and side-footed home the game winner for his 14th goal of the season. "I dont know (what happened) to be honest," said Perkins. "When (Pearce) turned, I wasnt expecting it. Just miscommunication, I guess, and it cost us. In the ideal situation, the ball is cleared, and he doesnt even turn with it. It was a mess from the beginning." Dwyer also took advantage of another mistake early in the game, beating Perkins with a header in the fourth minute of play. Dwyer walked in all alone, unmarked, and connected with a long throw-in from the corner flag after Impact defender Matteo Ferrari blew his coverage. The Impact (3-9-5) are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with Major League Soccers worst record. Montreal has now been outscored 9-1 in its three losses to Kansas City this season. "We gifted them the two goals," said captain Patrice Bernier, who could only watch as his team lost a second straight game in the dying minutes. Last week, Montreal gave up a goal in stoppage time to Chivas USA. "There was nothing saying this game wouldnt finish 1-1. I didnt see anything that was going to make them win the game against us in the end. "These are small mental errors that are costly. We have to be vigilant all game-long. We hurt ourselves, simple as that, and were making it even harder for us for the rest of the season." Second-place Kansas City (8-5-5) has now won its last three games on the road, and has only lost once in its last seven. Dwyers brace against Montreal is a recurring storyline this season. The Englishman scored twice in each of Sportings three victories over Montreal this year. Elgton Jenkins Jersey. His team-high 14 goals are second best in Major League Soccer. "We should have probably scored a couple of more goals," said Dwyer, whose team has yet to lose this season when scoring first. "We want three points every single game. Were not going to come somewhere and play for a draw. Thats the team we are, and were one of the best teams in the league. We should prove that every week when we come out." Striker Marco Di Vaio answered Dwyers opening goal with a header of his own, erasing Kansas early lead in the 28th minute. The Italian gave goalie Andy Gruenebaum no chance with an accurate shot that rang off the back post before crossing the line. The goal was Di Vaios first in seven career games versus Sporting. But Gruenebaum, who made his first start of the year in net in place of the injured Eric Kronberg, was only challenged once more after that. After Felipe was taken down in the box in the 33rd minute, the ball fell to Andres Romero, whose left-footed shot from a decent angle was stooped by Gruenebaum. Montreal did not hit the target in the second half, despite a slew of opportunities. Felipe had two good chances after the hour mark -- including on an odd-man rush -- but gave the ball away cheaply on both occasions. And a rare offensive outburst by Hassoun Camara almost gave the Impact the victory four minutes from time, but the defenders shot flew just wide. Sporting dominated possession for most of the game, penning Montreal deep in its own half of the pitch for long stretches. At halftime, Kansas City went to the dressing room having seen two thirds of the ball. It was more of the same in the second half for Sporting KC, which completed almost twice as many passes as Montreal. "You have to move on," said Impact manager Frank Klopas, whose team is now nine points out of a playoff spot. "We had a good performance, but in the end we should have walked away with points tonight. I dont know how we find ways to lose games like this. The breaks arent going our way right now. I feel bad for the guys. "Its not a good feeling coming in here and losing, believe me, or walking around the streets of Montreal when you lose games like this." Notes: The Impact were shutout twice by Sporting KC earlier this year -- 4-0 on the road on Apr. 19, and 3-0 at home on May 10. a Defender Krzysztof Krol made his first appearance for the Impact. New acquisition Mamadou Danso was on the bench. a Centre back Besler played in his first game for Sporting KC since returning from the FIFA World Cup. ' ' '
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Activity: May 25 '20
