SB Nation - Michael Matthews

Full Rundown of Lions' Recent Roster Moves

Sean Yuille — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:50:22 -0000

The Lions have been quite busy this week making changes to their roster. I wouldn't exactly call it a roster shakeup considering injuries forced two of the moves, but I am glad there are at least a few new faces in wake of what happened in Baltimore last Sunday. The season is as good as over already, but the Lions might as well get a look at as many players as they can with 2010 quickly approaching. Anyway, here is a rundown of the moves the Lions made this week:

Placed RB Kevin Smith (knee) and TE Casey FitzSimmons (concussion) on injured reserve
Signed RB Cedric Peerman from the practice squad to fill Smith's spot on the roster
Signed free agent TE Michael Matthews to fill FitzSimmons' spot on the roster
Claimed CB/KR Brian Witherspoon (he was waived by Jacksonville on Monday)
Released CB Jahi Word-Daniels to make room for Witherspoon
Released FB Terrelle Smith just days after Baltimore's Terrell Suggs called him out for taking a cheap shot at his injured knee
Claimed OG Roy Schuening to fill the open roster spot (he was waived by Oakland on Tuesday)
Signed WR Eric Fowler and DT Terrance Taylor (former Michigan player) to the practice squad

As you can see, it's been a busy week for the Lions. Although the season is winding down, it's at least good to see that the front office still has its eyes glued to the waiver wire. You never know when you might stumble upon somebody who just needed a change of scenery to really get his career going. At the same time, many of other teams' cast offs are upgrades over players currently on the roster, so the Lions probably figure that they might as well bring in talent whenever they can.

Can anyone beat the Bengals when they put it together?; Maualuga's production has dipped, somewhat

Kirkendall — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:37:11 -0000

Against the Bears, the Bengals, who have a ton of depth at wide receiver, were supremely confident. Evan Mathis hinted the same thing.

“You could see it in guys’ eyes,” he said. “Every guy next to me was ready to go, and wanted to keep the ball moving no matter what. We got a two- then three-touchdown lead and nobody relaxed. It doesn’t mean the game is over. We still went after it with max effort.”

We've known that these guys have the talent; it's always a matter of putting it together. No more drive-stalling penalties, drops or turnovers. Give it to your play makers (Chad Ochocinco) and keep pounding the football (Cedric Benson). And when they played their best game of the year, their most complete game of the year, when they bring their A-game, this team appeared invincible.

Even though Rey Maualuga was nominated for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month in September, there's other rookies making a bigger impression on Scout.com NFL Rookie Rankings. Last week, he was ranked 14th. This week, he dropped to 17th with Scout.com saying "Maualuga's production over the last couple of weeks has suffered..." Maualuga has 30 tackles his year, which ranks sixth among rookies. His two forced fumbles ties him with Brian Cushing, Aaron Curry, Everette Brown, Malcolm Jenkins, Kaluka Maiava for most among rookies. I would agree that Maualuga's production has gone down, but only because the last two opposing teams choose to pass 64% of the time, which lowers tackle production among the front seven anyway. But it also limits Maualuga's playing time if the opposing team is showing a passing formation; Brandon Johnson is on the field in nickel packages.

The Bengals invited three players on Thursday for a workout: running back Jehuu Caulcrick, fullback Bill Rentmeester and Tight End Michael Matthews.

Geoff Hobson interviewed Marvin Lewis, who now calls this a nine-game season.

Chad Ochocinco's #1 Top Ten on the Late Show: "I thank the Lord every day that I don’t play for the Lions."

Who Dey Fans say if you want to buy a ticket to next weeks showdown between the Bengals and Ravens, then don't let other influences make the choice for you.

Given the choice, WDR would rather have Daniel Snyder than Mike Brown as an owner. Snyder bought the Redskins in 1999. Since 1999, the Redskins have won .467 of their games (78-89) compared to Brown's .404 clip (67-99-1) during that same timeframe. Just for kicks and giggles, since Marvin Lewis was hired, the Bengals have won exactly .500 (51-51-1) while, during that same time frame, the Redskins are .437 (45-58). Furthermore, the Bengals have never finished last in the division -- one first, two seconds, three thirds.

New England Patriots 53 man roster - some thoughts

MaPatsFan — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 03:04:36 -0000

by Stephan Savoia - AP

7 months ago: New England Patriots head football coach Bill Belichick looks over his rookies during football minicamp at the team's practice facility in Foxborough, Mass., Friday morning, May 1, 2009 (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

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We stay with 2 QB's, LB is a bit weak, TE will be a position to watch, OL is stacked on the interior...let's break it down position by position (props to NESilver for his comment in this thread)

Offense: 25

QB: Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer (2) - Odd we keep only 2, but that could change when the season starts.
RB: Laurence Maroney, Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, BenJarvus Green-Ellis (5) - Solid group.
WR: Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Joey Galloway, Greg Lewis, Saim Aiken, Julian Edelman (6) - Break out the air raid sirens. Edelman looked like "Little Welker".
TE: Benjamin Watson, Chris Baker, Michael Matthews (3) - Like this group, Matthews is a big man which must mean "blocking TE". Baker has good hands which we haven't seen in NE TE's for a long time.
OL: Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Nick Kaczur, Sebastian Vollmer, Rich Ohrnberger, Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell (9) - Deep on the interior, Vollmer is the next stud.

Defense: 25

DL: Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, Ron Brace, Mike Wright, Myron Pryor (7) - Liking the depth, glad to see Pryor make the roster
DE/OLB: Derrick Burgess, Tully Banta-Cain (2) - Can you say, "4-3?" I knew you could. Here comes the pass rush.
LB: Adalius Thomas, Jerod Mayo, Gary Guyton, Pierre Woods, Eric Alexander, Rob Ninkovich (6) - Might be considered a little thin, possibly why NE is experimenting with a 4-3.
CB: Leigh Bodden, Shawn Springs, Jonathan Wilhite, Darius Butler, Terrence Wheatley (5) - Wheatley barely hung on to his spot. I hope a "shutdown corner" emerges.
S: Brandon Meriweather, James Sanders, Patrick Chung, Brandon McGowan, Matthew Slater (5) - Good group, although Slater will, most likely, be IR'd.

Specialists: 3

K: Stephen Gostkowski - What can I say? One of the best kickers in the league. A machine through the uprights and consistently boots kickoffs into the endzone.
P: Chris Hanson - Game changer. Massive hangtime and very good accuracy.
LS: Jake Ingram - Many laughed when Hoodie drafted Ingram. The rookie wins the long snapper battle.

Injured Reserve

OLB: Shawn Crable - Depressing. The dude can't catch a break.
RB: Chris Taylor
OL: George Bussey - Adds depth for next year.
LB: Tyrone McKenzie - Looking forward to seeing him inside for 2010.

Poll

What do you think of the roster?

Lovin' it!

524 votes

Too early to tell.

722 votes

Hate it.

66 votes

1312 votes | Poll has closed

New York Giants Cuts: UPDATED Tyree, Evans, Matthews, Wright, Rashad, Woodson, Ingram, Bomar, Thompson, cut

Jim Schmiedeberg — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:00:22 -0000

More photos » by Gene Puskar - AP

The Giants have cut SB 42 hero David Tyree

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Last year, on the day of final cuts, when the first victims were announced, I posted them on Big Blue View, and wound up sitting in front of the computer all day long as the cuts just kept flowing in.

So here we go again.

We'll leave this thread up all day, and I'll just post the cuts here as the day goes on. If there are any big names cut around the NFL, I will post them here as well.

Beware "The Turk"!

UPDATE:10:30 First cut is in guys, and as we all suspected, its David Tyree. Thanks for the greatest memory David

UPDATE: 10:45 S Sha'reff Rashad cut, may go to the practice squad

UPDATE: 10:50 DE Maurice Evans cut, this one is a surprise

UPDATE: 11:22: Andre Woodson cut, Vacchiano reporting Giants may only carry 2 QB's

UPDATE: 11:25 Michael Matthews and CB DeAndre Wright have been cut

UPDATE: 11:38: DE Robert Henderson has been cut

UPDATE: 11:52: LB Kenny Ingram has been waived, probably to go to the practice squad

UPDATE: 12:00: Ralph Vacchiano and MIke Garafolo are reporting Bomar has been cut, and will go to the practice squad if he clears waivers

UPDATE: 12:00 OL Orrin Thompson is reporting his own cut on his Facebook page. "Cut like a Thanksgiving turkey"

UPDATE: 12:02 S Travonti Johnson has been cut

UPDATE: 12:13 S Vince Anderson waived

UPDATE: 12:40 DT's Jeremy Clark and Antonio Bryant have been cut

UPDATE: 12:41 WR Shaun Bodiford has been cut

UPDATE: 1:50 PM: DL Tommie Hill , FB Dwayne Wright, OL Terrance Pennington have been cut. At least Hill will always have the amazing preseason play to remember.

UPDATE: 2:39 PM RB Allen Patrick has been cut

New York Giants training camp: That's a wrap!

Ed Valentine — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:42:44 -0000

More photos » by Tim Roske - AP

Coach Tom Coughlin and the Giants are making their escape from Albany today.

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As I write this, most of the New York Giants players, coaches and staff members are already zipping up the Thruway heading for their in-season homes in and around New Jersey.

The final practice of New York Giants training camp at UAlbany was held this morning -- perhaps the last Giants' practice ever in Albany. That means this will be your final practice report from me.

Practice began with a real downer this morning. On the first pass play off 11-on-11 drills, Aaron Ross was left crumpled on the ground in agony grabbing at his left hamstring. Ross, trying to work back in after missing most of camp with the hamstring injury, was trying to cover Steve Smith on a deep ball. Instead, he wound up being helped off the field. I doubt we see him again any time soon.

Great quote from Tom Coughlin on Ross' injury.

The poor kid cannot get beyond that. He starts working his way back and he obviously made a sudden move to try to catch back up to a receiver that was going by and…it’s very frustrating because he’s not had a lot of time on the field.

Hakeem Nicks followed Monday afternoon's all-world practice with an up-and-down effort. Nicks was consistently open, but dropped the first two deep balls he got his hands on. Both times he had beaten defenders. Toward the end of practice, though, Nicks beat safety Kenny Phillips and made a gorgeous stretching touchdown catch of an Eli Manning floater for a touchdown.
Never thought I would see this from backup tight end Michael Matthews. Not exactly known for his receiving skills, Matthews made an oustanding one-hand leaping catch on an out in the flat from Manning. He stuck his big old right hand up and the ball stayed in it.
Typical Coughlin during pre-practice stretching drills. Walking up and down the lines yelling "Be a winner, be a winner ... Focus ... Effort, effort."
I guess the Giants couldn't leave Albany without Adam Koets and Andre Woodson messing up one final snap. I can't give Koets too much grief, though. It's the first bad exchange since prior to the first exhibition game.
Perfect illustration of the Ramses Barden effect this morning. Rhett Bomar threw a triple-covered Barden a deep ball that he had no business sending in Barden's direction. Guess who came away with the ball?
Perfect illustration also of the limitations of Sinorice Moss. Single covered down the middle by Kevin Dockery, Moss could only watch David Carr's slightly overthrown pass sail over his head. Barden catches that ball. Then again, I think several of the other receivers could have hauled it in.
Kenny Phillips made a nice play to knock a Carr pass away from Beckum.
Bomar threw the ball well this morning. Several nice short throws in limited opportunities.
Domenik Hixon outran Corey Webster to haul in a deep throw from Manning.
Some nice battles this morning between Derek Hagan and Terrell Thomas.

That's about it for today. Now I go back to being a regular blogger.

New York Giants training camp: Wednesday evening practice report

Ed Valentine — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:14:21 -0000

More photos » by Mike Groll - AP

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

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Here is your Wednesday evening practice report from New York Giants training camp at UAlbany.

Let's start with this. Eli Manning has talked all through camp about the Giants needing to get the ball deep for big plays. Tonight, the deep ball was on full display and Eli threw the ball as well or better than he has the entire camp.

During 1-on-1 drills Eli hit Derek Hagan deep down the right side. Hagan leaped over DeAndre Wright for a spectacular grab.
In 11-on-11 action, Eli ran play action and hit Sinorice Moss in stride deep after Moss had blown past Michael Johnson.
Andre Woodson then hit Ramses Barden on a nicely thrown deep ball. Barden beat fellow rookie Stoney Woodson on the play. By the way, those two have been matched up most of camp and have to be tired of looking at each other by now.
Manning hit Mario Manningham on a deep corner route near the end of practice. This was a beautifully thrown ball over Terrell Thomas.

There were several other well-thrown balls by Eli.

A softly thrown ball to Darcy Johnson over the linebackers and in front of the safeties.
A floater to Moss down the left sideline that Thomas could not stop.
A zinger to Michael Matthews down the right seam in 7-on7 action.

Here are some other observations from Wednesday evening's action.

The split personality that is Manningham was again on display. After a morning session in which he did both great and God-awful things, Mario was at it again in the evening. He caught that long ball from Manning. But, earlier, he had dropped a back shoulder throw from Eli. A drop that earned him a sideline lecture -- apparently for not properly running the route.
David Carr scares the daylights out of me. Every time his first option isn't there he gets fidgety and starts moving around. As good as Eli was tonight, Carr was just as bad. On one throw, he scrambled out of the pocket and fired the ball into the crowd standing on the sideline. Moss, one of the receivers on the play, reacted by muttering "what the hell was that?" Hey, Sinorice, don't feel bad. I was wondering the same thing.
Lawrence Tynes went 3-for-4 in field goals, hitting from 20, 29 and 30 yards. He missed right from 35.
David Tyree had a bad drop, failing to hold a deep out from Woodson when he had clearly gotten open.

This year's useless try at predicting the Giants' season-opening 53-man roster

Ed Valentine — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:00:11 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, left, runs a drill with Rhett Bomar (5) and Andre Woodson during mini-camp last month. The competition for a roster spot between Bomar and Woodson will be one of training camp's most interesting.

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OK, so with training camp only days away it is time to take a stab at predicting the season-opening 53-man roster. It's an exercise in complete futility. I mean, there is no way to predict injuries, and no guessing what veterans might get picked up right before the season starts.

But, I will take a stab at it anyway. Before Week 1 I will have to remember to look back and see how close I got.

Quarterbacks: Starter -- Eli Manning. Backup -- David Carr, Andre Woodson, Rhett Bomar.

The obvious fight here is between Bomar and Woodson for the third slot. Bomar, this year's fifth-round pick, was better than Woodson, last season's sixth-round pick, in the mini-camps. There is very little reason to think that won't still be the case in training camp. The Giants kept only two quarterbacks on the 53-man last season. Most teams keep three, and I am going to base this choice on Tom Coughlin keeping three.

The picks (3) -- Manning, Carr, Bomar

Running Backs: Starters -- RB Brandon Jacobs, FB Madison Hedgecock. Backup -- RB Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Danny Ware, RB Andre Brown, RB Allen Patrick, RB Dwayne Wright.

The roster spots here are easy to pick. The fight that will develop for carries behind Jacobs is not. I haven't got a clue who will emerge as the true backup behind Jacobs. I know, however, that between Bradshaw, Ware and the rookie Brown I'm not worried about it.

The picks (5) -- Jacobs, Hedgecock, Bradshaw, Ware, Brown.

Tight Ends: Starter -- Kevin Boss. Backup -- Michael Matthews, Darcy Johnson, Lee Vickers, Travis Beckum.

Third-round pick Travis Beckum wasn't drafted to block. Kevin Boss can block, but he is a pass-catcher. That means the third tight end has to be a big-time blocker, and that's what Matthews is.

The picks (3) -- Boss, Beckum, Matthews.

Wide Receivers: Starters -- Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon. Backups -- Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Taye Biddle, Shaun Bodiford, Derek Hagan, Micah Rucker, Hakeem Nicks, Ramses Barden.

There are likely six roster spots to be had out of this group, and barring injury or trade it is pretty clear who will get them. That means a sad goodbye to Super Bowl 42 hero David Tyree. It also means cult hero Micah Rucker is likely playing for a spot on the practice squad.

The picks (6) -- Smith, Hixon, Manningham, Moss, Nicks, Barden.

Offensive Linemen: Starters -- LT David Diehl, LG Rich Seubert, C Shaun O’Hara, RG Chris Snee, RT Kareem McKenzie. Backups -- T Guy Whimper, T/C Adam Koets, T Andrew Carnahan, G/T Kevin Boothe, T Cliff Louis, G/T Terrance Pennington, G Tutan Reyes, G/T Orrin Thompson, T Will Beatty.

Each and every Giants' fan should pray that this starting offensive line, one of the league's best, continues to stay healthy. There isn't much in the way of dependable backups.

Second-round pick William Beatty should make the team. Veteran guard Tutan Reyes is likely in. The versatility of being able to play guard and tackle probably gets Kevin Boothe a slot. There has to be a backup center, so Adam Koets probably also sneaks onto the roster.

The picks (9) -- Diehl, Seubert, O'Hara, Snee, McKenzie, Beatty, Reyes, Boothe, Koets.

Defensive Linemen: Starters -- LE Justin Tuck, LT Barry Cofield, RT Fred Robbins, RE Osi Umenyiora. Backups -- DE Mathias Kiwanuka, DE/DT Chris Canty, DT Rocky Bernard, DT Jay Alford, DE Dave Tollefson, DE Maurice Evans, DT Anthony Bryant, DT Jeremy Clark, DT Leger Douzable, DE Robert Henderson, DE Tommie Hill.

If everyone gets through camp healthy, some very good football players will wind up being available to the NFL's other teams. I doubt there is another unit in the league that is this talented and this deep. The hardest cut out of this group will be Dave Tollefson, a popular player who has played well at times in sporadic opportunities. But with all this depth, with Jay Alford doubling as snapper on field goals and PATs, and with the talented Maurice Evans likely ending up on the practice squad I don't know how Tollefson sticks around.

The picks (8) -- Tuck, Cofield, Robbins, Umenyiora, Kiwanuka, Canty, Bernard, Alford.

Linebackers: Starter -- SLB Danny Clark , MLB Antonio Pierce , WLB Michael Boley. Backup -- MLB Chase Blackburn, MLB Jonathan Goff, WLB Bryan Kehl, WLB Gerris Wilkinson, SLB Zak DeOssie, SLB Kenny Ingram, SLB Clint Sintim, MLB Kelvin Smith.

The picks (8) -- Clark, Pierce, Boley, Blackburn, Goff, Kehl, DeOssie, Sintim

Defensive Backs: Starter -- LCB Aaron Ross, RCB Corey Webster, FS Michael Johnson, SS Kenny Phillips. Backup -- CB Vince Anderson, SS C.C. Brown, SS/FS Steve Cargile, CB Kevin Dockery, CB Bruce Johnson, CB Travonti Johnson, FS Sha’reff Rashad, CB Terrell Thomas, CB Stoney Woodson, CB DeAndre Wright.

The Giants are deep and talented at cornerback, a fact that is incredibly important in today's pass and blitz-happy NFL. They aren't so deep at safety, and I think that might leave room for undrafted free-agent Sha'reff Rashad to sneak onto the roster.

The picks (9) -- Ross, Webster, Johnson, Phillips, Brown, Dockery, Rashad, Thomas, Wright.

Kickers (2): P Jeff Feagles, K Lawrence Tynes

Feagles is the best in the business at what he does. Tynes makes many Giants' fans nervous, but he is a perfectly acceptable veteran kicker.

-- New York Giants schedule