SportsNation Blog ArchivesSN Blog Archives Peyton Manning

We don't wish ill on anyone. Actually, that's not true, but we don't wish ill on anyone relevant to this discussion. Nevertheless, injuries happen, and as we've seen time and again -- Tom Brady last season, Alex Rodriguez early in the MLB season and Alex Ovechkin in recent weeks, to name just a few -- they sometimes happen to the biggest of stars.

And so it was that the populace of Cleveland found itself holding its breath after LeBron James injured his wrist on a dunk against the Wizards. There's little reason at the moment to think it's a long-term issue, but it makes us wonder. Which team would take the biggest hit if it lost its star for an extended period?

ravenisthebest7

That's what you get for dunking the ball so hard down by 17 to the Wizards. Why was he dunking like that? You're down 17 lay the ball up dont dunk where many of things can go wrong on a fast break where the nearest wizard player was on the bench.

-- ravenisthebest7
treelocx

Lebron's MRI showed positive for having won zero championships.

-- treelocX

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Should we offer a moment of silence for fantasy football owners coming to the realization that Saints safety Darren Sharper has scored more touchdowns this season than Steven Jackson, Brandon Jacobs or Anquan Boldin?

The Saints are just outside the top 10 in total defense at the moment, which is kind of remarkable when you think about how often their opponents have the whole field to work with after yet another Saints touchdown and yet another Saints kickoff. Sharper may not be the sole reason for the success, given that he shares the field with guys like Charles Grant and Jonathan Vilma, but as a newcomer with a league-best six interceptions and three touchdowns, he's becoming the face of it.

When push comes to shove, 67 percent of SportsNation prefers a great defense to a great offense. But are you ready to give a guy like Sharper MVP consideration?

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Bear with us for just one minute, but we've always wanted to use this phrase:

Out on the frozen tundra of Gillette Stadium, the Patriots brought a blizzard to bear against the hapless Titans.

OK, we're good. Maybe the field in Foxboro was more slushy than frozen, but the part about the Titans being hapless? Totally true. How else would you describe a team that let up five passing touchdowns in one quarter and couldn't manage even a field goal on offense? It's not a good week in Tennessee, but the fans in New England are having flashbacks to 2007. It's a long way from Brady's jitters against the Jets, which had so many in the Bay State concerned (although the Jets suddenly have problems of their own).

Of course, Drew Brees may have had an even better day. Though he didn't set any records, Brees threw for four touchdowns against a team that's nearly the polar opposite of the Titans. For one, until the Giants met up with the Saints on Sunday, they had won all their games. Might Brees' performance be more impressive than Brady's, given that the Titans have practically given up? All we know is that for all Brady and Brees' heroics, Matt Schaub leads the league in touchdowns. Weird game, football.

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Why didn't AIG have this kind of foresight? As recounted in the Wall Street Journal, Fantasy Sports Insurance launched this year to offer fantasy football owners some peace of mind on their high-dollar investments. Drafted Adrian Peterson but worried about an injury ruining your season? Buy insurance on him and recoup your league fees if he gets hurt (although in Peterson's case, based on his chat with SportsNation, Frank Gore insurance would have been a better investment).

One of the only 50 stars the company offered to insure? Cedric Benson. The same guy who averaged 3.5 yards per carry last season while rushing for a career "best" 747 yards. Forget insurance; we're going to these guys for our draft cheat sheet next year.

Thanks in no small part to Benson, who has 487 rushing yards in five games, the Bengals are 4-1. But does that make him a better MVP pick than Carson Palmer, let alone Peterson, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning or other standouts?

Where do Benson and Palmer rank on your MVP ballot?

Scott (Bakersfield, CA)

Which offseason add has helped their team more Dawkins or Sharper?

Gary Horton
Gary Horton

That's almost a push. They are both great veteran players with tremendous leadership skills. Your first inclination might be to say Sharper because of his big plays and his instincts. He can turn around a game with those interceptions. My sources in Denver tell me Dawkins is like another coach on the field and is a huge part of the speed in which Denver has made the transition from a 43 to a 34. That may not show up in the box score, but it is a big factor in their success. Full transcript.

Random (Dude)

DO u have yourself on your fantasy team?

Adrian Peterson
Adrian Peterson

Nope. Frank Gore. And Matt Forte. Full transcript.

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Save for the Falcons, Eagles, Cardinals and Panthers, NFL teams are already a quarter of the way through the regular season. Most places, that means an opportunity for fans to take stock of what they've seen and set expectations for the remaining 12 games. In St. Louis, where the Rams have been voted the worst of the worst four weeks running, we don't recommend diverting your attention from the Cardinals. (Or the Blues, for that matter. In fact, if the Saint Louis Billikens have any halfway decent post players, you might just want to skip ahead to basketball season).

Through just a quarter of the season, we've already seen three teams trade the top spot in SportsNation's Power Rankings -- not to mention 15 teams ranked somewhere in the top 10 at some point. And as good as Drew Brees has been, his Saints have cracked the top 2 just once. Just imagine how messy this would be in the BCS.

mnryan55

NFC East is a hugely overrated conference at the moment. The Redskins and Cowboys appear to be actively bad teams; and both the Eagles and Giants have question marks as to the health of key players.

-- MNRyan55
madmax1018

The fact is, the Jets won't even be a part of the play-off picture, so why are we even bothering with them now. The AFC will come down to the Colts, Patriots, Steelers, Ravens and probably the Chargers and the NFC will most likely come down to the Saints, Giants, Vikings, Bears, Eagles and Packers.

-- MadMax1018

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Tom Brady and Peyton Manning came through with just enough big moments in Week 1 to lead their respective teams to victory, but at the moment, is Drew Brees the NFL's best quarterback?

If there was a time for Brees to make his move, it's probably right after throwing six touchdown passes, a record for Week 1, against the still-woeful Lions. But we somehow were still a little surprised to see the Saints signal-caller surge to the No. 1 spot in SportsNation's quarterback rankings yesterday. Brees has been posting big numbers for a long time now, and yet, as recently as March, he earned just more than 5,000 first-place rankings from SportsNation -- Brady and Manning each received more than 34,000.

Hey, if Roger Federer can lose a U.S. Open and Tiger Woods can take the collar in major events, perhaps anything is possible. Maybe Brees really is the best passer in the world.

njhaines

Even though we still have the worst history of any major professional sports franchise; The Saints are in a new era and I think Brees may get us to a SuperBowl. I loved how the Saints overcame a blocked kick, 2 long returns, an int, and two fumbles. Who Dat!

-- njhaines
blair771999

Brees is a monster & I hate the Chargers but definitely think they would've had a SB ring by now as well w/him..

-- blair771999

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Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd have more than enough weapons to succeed, which they will flaunt on today's edition of "SportsNation" TV.

Argue the hot topics, vote on the biggest stories and chat during the show, on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. and midnight ET.

Note: Broadcast voting results as of afternoon ET.

Yankees Will Peyton Manning retire as a Colt?
His little brother just signed a massive contract, so does that mean Peyton's next contract will be too expensive for the Colts to match?

Jeter Which team needs Red Sox-Yankees series more?
The Yankees are 0-8 against the Red Sox this season, but does that necessarily mean they need the series more than their rivals?

Crabtree Should Michael Crabtree sit out the year?
Michael Crabtree is generating headlines, thanks to one of his "advisers" saying he is prepared to sit out the season. Good idea or bad idea?

Eli Manning Does Eli Manning have enough weapons to succeed?
The New York Giants have 97 million reasons to expect Eli Manning to succeed. But does he have the receiving corp to do it?

Pie to the Face! Which is the better way to celebrate?
Pies to the face are so cliche. Why not cake? We tackle the tough questions here in SportsNation, so give this one some real thought before you vote.

What is "SportsNation" TV, and how do you make your voice heard? Read about the new ESPN show that features fan opinions with calls, tweets, polls, rankers and more.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

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The NFL season is right around the corner, and in its own way, so is the end of the decade -- in geologic terms, it's practically yesterday. So even though there's technically one more season to play before we hit double digits in this century, it's never too early to start looking back (which is also decent advice for Matthew Stafford when he plants in the pocket this season behind the Lions offensive line).

ESPN.com's NFL bloggers have been putting their minds to the task of sorting out our current decade, with the Patriots topping the Power Rankings, Ray Lewis and Derrick Brooks among those leading the all-decade defense, and Tom Brady edging out Peyton Manning as the all-decade quarterback and MVP.

RIPredskins21

how can the patriots possibly be considered in ANYTHING?!!? THEY CHEATED...let me spell that out C H E A T E D. NO team in NFL's glorious history has EVER been caught cheating. It's too bad the NFL just swept this under the rug to save face instead of call them out for what really is...what a discrace, not a champion...

-- RIPredskins21
pucrepeap

Manning Should be MVP! What the heck he has 3 NFL MVPs this decade and Brady 1.....Doesn't that right there tell you Manning is more Valuable? Plus Matt Cassel proved that the Pats are a decent team without Brady, making Brady not as valuable. I wonder how the Colts would do with Sorgi as starter?

-- pucrepeap

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