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<title>Big C Pro Football Insider</title>
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<description>Big C Pro Football Insider: Articles and insights from the nomadic Big C</description>
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<copyright>Copyright 2008, BigCProFootball.com</copyright>
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<category>Sports</category>
<category>NFL</category>
<category>Football</category>
<category>NFL Draft</category>
<category>NFL Events</category>
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<title>Ocho Cinco ready to face Samuel</title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1129</link>
<description><![CDATA[Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco is psyched about Sunday&amp;#39;s Nov. 16 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles for more than one reason. However, the biggest reason could be his long awaited face-to-face meeting with Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel. &amp;quot;I can&amp;#39;t wait to see Asante,&amp;quot; Ocho Cinco said Wednesday during a conference call with Philadelphia media. &amp;quot;I owe him a little bit, and I&amp;#39;m really looking forward to it. I can&amp;#39;t wait. I&amp;#39;m excited.&amp;quot; Apparently, Ocho Cinco&amp;#39;s over exuberance to face Samuel stems from an incident that took place during the 2007 season when Samuel played for New England.&amp;quot;I think I owe him from a year ago,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;He picked off a ball which caused Carson (Palmer) and I to have a little bickering on the sideline, caused a lot of negative headlines about him and I not getting along.&amp;quot;Now it&amp;#39;s my time to get him back, every time I see him in the offseason I&amp;#39;m always talking trash, and so I think this is a good time to redeem myself, and I will commence to baptize him on Sunday.&amp;quot;Something tells me that Ocho Cinco had this date circled on his calendar since the start of the season.The play came in the second quarter of a Monday night game with the Bengals offense driving down the field trailing 17-7 just before halftime. Palmer threw a deep pass down the middle of the field intended for Ocho Cinco. It was intercepted by Samuel at New England&amp;#39;s 2 yard-line.The play has been on the mind of the receiver for some time, and he blames the tiff between him and the quarterback on Samuel&amp;#39;s performance.&amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s his fault,&amp;quot; Ocho Cinco said laughingly. &amp;quot;He&amp;#39;s a very, very, very extremely smart corner which makes him one of the best in the game. I mean, it&amp;#39;s not so much about his talent, his cover skills, but really his film study is unbelievable and being able to gamble and pick and choose the right times to jump balls and just all that stuff, he&amp;#39;s what you would call a complete cornerback and that&amp;#39;s why I respect him so much and look forward to this challenge because he&amp;#39;s one of the best in the game.&amp;quot;The Bengals have a 1-8 record and Ocho Cinco&amp;#39;s numbers are down this season with 37 catches for 349 yards and four touchdowns, but that hasn&amp;#39;t stopped the team&amp;#39;s top receiver from taking a winner&amp;#39;s approach to the game.&amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m playing like we&amp;#39;re 8-1,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m not playing like we&amp;#39;re 1-8. That&amp;#39;s how I&amp;#39;m approaching each and every game. Like we&amp;#39;re winning. That&amp;#39;s one of the ways I&amp;#39;ve been able to keep myself very positive.&amp;quot;Ocho Cinco will have to bring his A-game on Sunday, going head-to-head with one of the top corners in the league in Samuel.Carlos &amp;quot;Big C&amp;quot; Holmes covers the NFL for the Dayton Daily News.]]></description>
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<title>Bengals DT Peko confident in defense</title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1127</link>
<description><![CDATA[The 0-8 Cincinnati Bengals haven&amp;#39;t had much to cheer about this season. Aside from the obvious, you have fair-weather fans jumping off the bandwagon, trading game tickets for what seems like boxes of Cracker Jack hoping to find a better prize inside. You also have media coverage that rips the organization every chance it gets. Luckily for die-hard Bengal fans and owner Mike Brown, the players still believe in themselves and refuse to give up despite all the negativity they have endured during the team&amp;#39;s winless streak. There is hope in sight. During a phone interview with Bengals starting defensive tackle Domata Peko Thursday evening, Oct. 30, he talked about Bengal pride and today&amp;#39;s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.&amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m proud to be a Bengal,&amp;quot; Peko said. &amp;quot;At the time we&amp;#39;re 0-8, but I love Cincinnati, the organization and being a Bengal. It&amp;#39;s a dream come true playing a game I love to play. Since I was little, I wanted to be in the NFL and to be with the Bengals is great. We&amp;#39;re going to turn stuff around starting off with this win against Jacksonville. We just have to stay positive. Despite all else, I&amp;#39;m just proud to be a Bengal, man.&amp;quot;On the sideline, in the locker room and around the city of Cincinnati the D-tackle is always seen with an Ultra Brite smile on his face. That&amp;#39;s just his nature.Although Peko didn&amp;#39;t guarantee a Bengal win today, he sounded very confident about the team getting a win against Jacksonville. He was also confident about Jacksonville&amp;#39;s approach on offense to try and expose the Bengals defense.&amp;quot;I know they&amp;#39;re going to try and run the ball on us because that&amp;#39;s what they like to do,&amp;quot; Peko said. &amp;quot;They&amp;#39;re a smashmouth team with two great running backs in (Maurice) Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor, and the offensive line is pretty tough. They said through the media that they were going to come here and pound the ball on us, but we&amp;#39;re going to step up to the challenge.&amp;quot;I love teams that try and run the ball on me. That&amp;#39;s a challenge for me, and I can&amp;#39;t wait for Sunday to stuff that run up.&amp;quot;The 6-foot-3, 325-pound Peko has taken the statement made by Jacksonville personally and is prepared to step up his game today. The defensive tackle has accounted for 37 tackles this season and takes great pleasure in annihilating running backs. Peko usually comes off the field in nickel and dime situations, but is ready to be turned loose today.&amp;quot;I want to continue to fly around out there and make plays as I have in the past,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m trying to get better at gaining more penetration to get more tackles for loss. That&amp;#39;s what I&amp;#39;ve been working on; trying to get more penetration in the backfield and show more of a pass-rush against opposing teams.&amp;quot;Peko couldn&amp;#39;t say enough about the improving defense and the effect defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has had on the unit.&amp;quot;My first two years with the Bengals we really didn&amp;#39;t do that well on defense,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;There have been a lot of changes on defense like the way we practice, which helped our play on the field like running to the ball, being aggressive and staying hungry.&amp;quot;Coach Zimmer brings attitude to the defense, and if you&amp;#39;re not doing it right he&amp;#39;ll go get someone else to do it for you. He&amp;#39;s always in your face causing you to play harder and that makes you want to play for this guy. He&amp;#39;s real hard-nose and all over you if you make a mistake. That&amp;#39;s what pushes our defense to try and get better each and every game.&amp;quot;Peko said Zimmer has made the difference on defense and the unit is doing some good things to allow them to stay in games longer. He said if the team could just put some points on the board they would have an even better defense.Carlos &amp;quot;Big C&amp;quot; Holmes covers the NFL for the Dayton Daily News.]]></description>
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<title>Jeanty: Bengals defense 'a work in progress'</title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1126</link>
<description><![CDATA[The Cincinnati Bengals defense is arguably the lone bright spot in a disappointing season for the 0-8 club. The unit&amp;#39;s performance has gone virtually unnoticed, overshadowed by a nonexistent offense that is ranked at or near the bottom in just about every statistical category. The one stat that jumps out is being ranked last in points scored, averaging a measly 13.0 points per game. That kind of production is not going to win too many high school football games. Much to the team&amp;#39;s chagrin on offense, the defense has held its own against some pretty stiff competition this season. That was until it met the Houston Texans who laid a 35-6 whippin&amp;#39; on the team in Week 8. Despite the team&amp;#39;s winless season, players aren&amp;#39;t ready to pack it up, particularly starting linebacker Rashad Jeanty. He still believes that the team can turn things around.During a telephone interview with the linebacker Wednesday night, Oct. 29, he was outspoken about the mind-set and focus of the team.&amp;quot;The main focus this week is to get a W,&amp;quot; Jeanty said. &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s kind of frustrating when you&amp;#39;re working as hard as we have been and not coming up with numbers in the win column. We had a chance to win a couple of games, but couldn&amp;#39;t close it out for whatever reason.&amp;quot;The focus is to keep playing hard and finish games. We have to be able to make plays on defense and give the offense more opportunities to score points. We have to be able to get off the field on third down. That&amp;#39;s been our Achilles heel this season, and we&amp;#39;re definitely working on trying to improve as a defense.&amp;quot;Jeanty is one of the main contributors on defense. He&amp;#39;s second on the team in tackles with 52 stops and has high expectations.&amp;quot;The bar was set real high for the defense with Coach (Mike) Zimmer coming in,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;Coach has a reputation around the league as being one of the elite defensive coordinators and instilled in us to play hard. The expectations haven&amp;#39;t quite been met, but we have definitely made strides from last year.&amp;quot;Zimmer teaches an aggressive attacking style defense perfectly suited for Jeanty, who plays the game like it should be played at the linebacker position. He plays with lots of range and emotion.Jeanty said that he is steadily growing and learning the ins and outs of the defense and doing his part to the best of his ability.Jeanty knows what it means to win after winning two Grey Cup Championships with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League before signing with the Bengals in 2006.The linebacker wasn&amp;#39;t accustomed to losing and when the team started the 2007 season 1-5, he looked to his mother for consolation. This season must be d&amp;eacute;j&amp;agrave; vu. Jeanty said he is tuning out all the negative talk and is focused on getting things turned around.When asked about the character of guys on the team and in the locker room Jeanty was direct.&amp;quot;I know what type of players we have in the locker room, and for the most part we&amp;#39;re all good guys,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;In the past, guys have got themselves caught up in certain situations that lead to a bad image towards the team and the Bengals organization. Those guys know that they made a mistake. Guys like Chris Henry, who is one of the coolest guys I know, had, in the past, put himself in a position were he got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time.&amp;quot;So far he has been doing a good job. Chris has definitely been one of the teammates that you can talk to and depend on. And I&amp;#39;ve been noticing it. It&amp;#39;s a work in progress, but we&amp;#39;re definitely headed in the right direction.&amp;quot;Jeanty also dispelled the notion that the players have quit on head coach Marvin Lewis.&amp;quot;If the players have quit on coach, I don&amp;#39;t see it,&amp;quot; Jeanty said. &amp;quot;We&amp;#39;re trying our hardest but without the wins it seems like we quit. There have been times where we weren&amp;#39;t finishing to the ball and it seems like you&amp;#39;re not giving effort. It&amp;#39;s not that we are quitting on Coach Lewis. It&amp;#39;s like we keep trying and trying but sometimes we get a little lackadaisical on things and it cost us. But I don&amp;#39;t see guys quitting.&amp;quot;Carlos &amp;quot;Big C&amp;quot; Holmes covers the NFL for the Dayton Daily News.]]></description>
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<title>Jaguars star running back not underestimating Bengals</title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1125</link>
<description><![CDATA[Although the Cincinnati Bengals have the twenty-eighth ranked run defense in the league, Jacksonville Jaguars star running back Maurice Jones-Drew isn&amp;#39;t buying into the team&amp;#39;s statistics. The running back fully expects the Bengals defense to bring their A-game when the Jaguars visit Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday.Jones-Drew was forthcoming regarding Sunday&amp;#39;s matchup and the team&amp;#39;s approach to the game during a phone interview on Tuesday. &amp;quot;A lot of teams try to do whatever they can to stop our running game and I don&amp;#39;t expect anything different,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;Marvin Lewis is a defensive minded coach and might try to do the same thing. We&amp;#39;ll have to see what they throw at us first, adjust, and keep going.&amp;quot; Coming off an upset loss to Cleveland, Jones-Drew was quick to point out how prognosticators chalked up a Jacksonville win over the struggling Browns, and gave no indication that the Jags are overlooking the winless Bengals, who they&amp;#39;re favored to win against.&amp;quot;We&amp;#39;re both coming off losses and someone is going to have to win on Sunday,&amp;quot; Jones-Drew said. &amp;quot;We&amp;#39;re going to prepare and do everything that we can to come out with the victory. Obviously, they&amp;#39;re going to do the same, but somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. However, we are not looking past them.&amp;quot;The Bengals defense will be faced with the daunting task of trying to shutdown Jacksonville&amp;#39;s running game and the one-two&amp;ndash;punch of Fred Taylor and Jones-Drew.Not only do they have to worry about corralling Jones-Drew when running the ball, but receiving the ball out of the backfield as well. He&amp;#39;s a relentless runner and probably the most versatile back in the league.Entering his third-year, Jones-Drew has put up some gaudy numbers that rank him among the league&amp;#39;s elite. Coming into the 2008 season, Jones-Drew ranked third behind LaDainian Tomlinson and Marion Barber in rushing touchdowns with 23. He finished second behind Michael Turner in rushing average, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.Jones-Drew&amp;#39;s total combined numbers for rushing, receiving and returning kicks in two seasons are staggering, 4,561 yards and 28 touchdowns. Only Tomlinson has had bigger output. The kicker is Jones-Drew has been a back-up player to Taylor for two seasons and counting.The bottom line is that he has done substantially more with substantially less in terms of touches and playing time, which makes him extremely dangerous.The 5-foot-7, 208-pound Jones-Drew has carried the ball 77 times for 330 yards and five touchdowns this season, but admits that the Jags&amp;#39; running game is struggling a bit after the team was held to 113 yards rushing against Cleveland.He was very blunt about what needed to take place in order to get things back on track against the Bengals.&amp;quot;Every game you have to establish the run game, first and foremost. Running the ball opens up the passing game and helps maintain ball control. We just have to get back to the basics and figure out away to run the ball, and run it like I know we can,&amp;quot; he said.As far as being up for Sunday&amp;#39;s game, it doesn&amp;#39;t take much to motivate the runner.&amp;quot;My motivation is for the love of the game, preparing for it and the fear of failing. The fear of not being able to play at my best is always motivation for me,&amp;quot; Jones-Drew said.The dynamic running back let it be known that he is 100-percent after battling back from an early ankle injury and is ready to roll. The only question is can the Bengals defense stop him?Carlos &amp;quot;Big C&amp;quot; Holmes covers the NFL for the Dayton Daily News.]]></description>
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<title>Browns cornerback has the Wright stuff</title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1124</link>
<description><![CDATA[The Cleveland Browns young secondary was at the center of controversy when the season began for its inconsistent play. But now the unit is the toast of Cleveland as they continue to improve as the season progresses.The Browns defense has made significant strides since the season opener against Dallas. They&amp;#39;re ranked seventh in the NFL in points allowed (17.6) and 10th in passing yards allowed with 195 per game. A major player in the team&amp;#39;s success on defense has no doubt been second-year cornerback Eric Wright.The Browns 2007 second-round draft pick, Wright has elevated his game and has come into his own as a pro. He is the premiere playmaker in the secondary, making big plays when they count.Wright has three passes defended inside the red zone, and two interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown. Wright has a total of three interceptions on the season along with 30 tackles, 28 of which are solo. His game is steadily improving.&amp;quot;I look at each day as an opportunity to get better,&amp;quot; Wright said Monday, Oct. 27 in a telephone interview. &amp;quot;I feel like I have a lot of upside and a lot of potential. Now it&amp;#39;s just trying to focus every day on getting better and maximize my opportunity and potential. I&amp;#39;m a good player looking to be a great player one day.&amp;quot;With a year under his belt, Wright has made a smooth transition into the pros and the game is starting to come to him.&amp;quot;Meetings, training camp, I&amp;#39;ve been through it,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I have a little more experience and I feel a lot more comfortable being out there on the field. The plays are coming and this year is a lot easier.&amp;quot;Wright is a tight man-to-man coverage corner and with his 4.3/40 speed can run with any receiver in the league.He is a good blitzer, with tremendous speed off the corner and has the ability to charge quarterbacks forcing them into making poor decisions.Wright has all the tools and ability to become a Pro Bowl caliber corner and works hard at his craft.&amp;quot;I have extremely high expectations,&amp;quot; Wright said. &amp;quot;I know my ability and all the hard work and effort that I put into it. My main focus is to continue to progress and make plays for my team.&amp;quot;A lot of the personal things always come as a result of your team&amp;#39;s success. As long as I play my part and my role on the team, my personal goal will fall in line from there.&amp;quot;Wright said the defense as a whole is trying to come together and form their own identity by making plays on the field. And by the looks of how the team played against Jacksonville on Sunday, the Browns definitely appear to be on the &amp;#39;Wright&amp;#39; track.Carlos &amp;quot;Big C&amp;quot; Holmes covers the NFL for the Dayton Daily News.]]></description>
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<title>Colts need Mr. October performance from Wayne</title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1123</link>
<description><![CDATA[Monday night&amp;#39;s match-up between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans is more than just an intense division rival. It&amp;#39;s a must win game for Indy in order to keep pace within the AFC South division and their playoff picture in clear sight.The Colts come into the game looking to rebound from the shellacking they took in Week 7 against Green Bay, losing to the Packers 34-14. Quarterback Peyton Manning had perhaps one of the worst games of his illustrious career with two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. Along with Manning struggling, the guy who seems to fuel the offense was a non-factor. That being wide receiver Reggie Wayne.Wayne had two receptions for 24-yards in a losing effort and there needs to be a drastic change Monday night if the Colts are to have any chance of defeating the undefeated Titans.Wayne is an integral part of the team&amp;#39;s offense and must get more involved in the team&amp;#39;s passing game early and often. This will be no easy task considering the Titans defense is ranked third overall.That being said, the ranking could be a little misleading due to the fact that the Titans have yet to face a team with a balanced offense attack such as the Colts, especially when the team is on. Knowing that, you can expect the Colts offense to utilize Wayne&amp;#39;s versatility to exploit the situation.&amp;quot;He [Wayne] has the speed and the quickness to play in the slot and go across the middle,&amp;quot; Manning said. &amp;quot;He&amp;#39;s strong and physical and has zero fear as a receiver. Of course, he has the speed to get by guys on the outside and can get off versus bump-and-run coverage. It&amp;#39;s just a credit to him being able to play both inside and outside.&amp;quot;The Colts like to rotate Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez, not to create match up problems in coverage, but to find ways to get the ball in the hands of their playmaking receiver Wayne.&amp;quot;We just try to put him in good spots to try to get him the ball. That&amp;#39;s the main reason, the quarterback said.&amp;quot;According to Manning, Gonzalez has been outside and Wayne inside pretty much the majority of the season.Wayne is having a solid season thus far with 35 receptions for 492 yards and four touchdowns, but will need to have a Mr. October performance Monday night. Wayne has been held without a touchdown in the team&amp;#39;s last three meetings. His effectiveness could determine the Colts outcome.]]></description>
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<title>Purdue receiver Orton cream of the crop</title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1122</link>
<description><![CDATA[Purdue Boilermaker and former Wayne High School wide receiver Greg Orton has flown under the radar much of his college career, but is now emerging as one of the nation&amp;#39;s top college receivers and rightfully so. Orton has been a consistent performer despite Purdue&amp;#39;s struggles on offense this season. Saturday&amp;#39;s game against Northwestern was no different. The senior receiver hauled in seven receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown in losing effort.Orton&amp;#39;s touchdown reception was a thing of beauty.The 6-foot-3, 211-pound Orton streaked past two defenders in double-coverage to reel in a 32-yard pass from quarterback Curtis Painter just before running out of real estate in the end zone for the score.The Boilermakers were pummeled by Northwestern 48-26 but the team&amp;#39;s star receiver continued to shine.During a phone conversation with Orton and receivers coach Brian Rock, I learned what makes this receiver special both as a player and person.Hard worker&amp;quot;Greg has been a great player for us,&amp;quot; coach Rock said. &amp;quot;He has worked his tail off to get where he is and I think he&amp;#39;s a great kid.&amp;quot;The coach has had the opportunity to watch Orton grow into an elite receiver as a three-year starter in the team&amp;#39;s offense. Orton also saw action as a freshman and is an experienced receiver in the system.&amp;quot;His work ethic is much improved since his freshman year,&amp;quot; Rock said. &amp;quot;Greg is not a real vocal leader, but is a leader by example. He works his tail off in practice and when it&amp;#39;s time to show up and make plays, he has the confidence to go out there and make big plays.&amp;quot;I think other players see his commitment in the weight room and his commitment to working hard in practice. Greg&amp;#39;s offseason program was as good as I&amp;#39;ve had over a number of years and it has helped him on the field. His hard work in the offseason has been advantageous to him, especially this season. Over the course of his development he has gotten better every year.&amp;quot;Rock added that Orton is a very confident receiver but is not arrogant by any means. He said that the world is at Orton&amp;#39;s finger tips.You have entered the O-ZoneLeading up to the big game against Ohio State a week prior to Northwestern, that&amp;#39;s when I really learned of the receiver&amp;#39;s competitive nature. Orton was up for the challenge to go against highly touted Buckeye&amp;#39;s cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, who is regarded by many as the top ranked corner in the country. Orton described the match-up as fun.&amp;quot;I came to Purdue to go against the best,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;A lot of people say that he is the best and I just wanted to go against him and show him my game. I wanted to have a hard competitive game against him and have fun doing so.&amp;quot;That he did.Orton had six receptions for 73 yards and made a couple of key blocks in the game against Ohio State.Despite the dismal season Purdue is having Orton still believes in the team&amp;#39;s offense.&amp;quot;I feel like there is a lot to improve on,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;We&amp;#39;ve lost some close games against some good teams, but I think we&amp;#39;re almost there offensively.&amp;quot;Orton came into the season highly motivated and with something to prove. Even during these adverse times for the team his standards remain high.&amp;quot;If things aren&amp;#39;t going my way, I just have to keep working,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I want to play the perfect game every game. You know, just going hard at everything that I do. Working hard to get open, blocking, just whatever it takes for us to win ball games.&amp;quot;The Boilermakers are 2-5 with five games remaining on the schedule. If the team has any hopes of salvaging their season they can start by getting the ball in the hands of their playmaking wide receiver early and often.Big C&amp;#39;s Scouting Report:Orton is a big, strong, physical receiver with natural athletic ability.He&amp;#39;s a big-play receiver with reliable hands, good speed and outstanding body control. He has the ability to elevate and fight for the ball in heavy traffic.Orton is tough to jam at the line of scrimmage and is a precise route runner. He shows a real willingness to block and will make plays when the ball is not in his hands.Orton has a great work-ethic, good study habits and is mentally tough. He&amp;#39;s very well-spoken and a high character guy.Orton is a true competitor. When the game is on the line he wants to be the go-to-guy. He&amp;#39;s not flamboyant and handles himself in a very mature manner in the huddle as well as the locker room. He plays the game with passion.Orton is an intriguing prospect and will need to continue to develop from a technical standpoint at the next level.&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
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<title>Colts have high hopes for OSU's Gonzalez</title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1121</link>
<description><![CDATA[When the Indianapolis Colts drafted wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez out of Ohio State in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft, many draft prognosticators deemed the selection as the perfect fit. They appear to be on point.Gonzalez, in his second-year with the team, is starting to come into his own. With veteran wideout Marvin Harrison no longer the deep receiving threat he once was before suffering a knee injury in 2007, the team&amp;#39;s offense has turned to Gonzalez in hopes that he can pick up the slack.There are those who believe that Gonzalez is being groomed as the heir apparent to Harrison, who missed 11 games last season with a knee injury and appears to be at the end of his career.The Colts offense is starting to reap the benefits of the young receiver&amp;#39;s performance. Gonzalez had a breakout game against Minnesota when he hauled in nine receptions for 137 yards. However, the humble receiver downplayed the performance by saying that he had an &amp;quot;okay&amp;quot; day.&amp;quot;I still think that,&amp;quot; Gonzalez said. &amp;quot;After watching it, I think that even more. It&amp;#39;s just little technique things.You can see it on film. Numbers can certainly lie to you if you get fascinated with them.Technique-wise, I thought I did better in the Chicago game than in the Minnesota game.But from a production standpoint, obviously that wasn&amp;#39;t the case.&amp;quot;I&amp;#39;ve never been one to look at stats. I don&amp;#39;t have statistical goals. I don&amp;#39;t do anything like that. I just try to improve technically and hope that if you improve technically, the numbers generally take care of themselves. That&amp;#39;s always how I&amp;#39;ve approached it,&amp;quot; he said.Gonzalez&amp;#39;s performance in Week 2 helped the Colts to come from behind and defeat the Vikings 18-15 in Minnesota.Inside or outsideThe 6-foot, 193-pound Gonzalez is a versatile receiver and has been moved around this season alternating at the inside &amp;mdash; slot &amp;mdash; and outside receiver position. Being shuffled about on offense doesn&amp;#39;t seem to faze the talented receiver.&amp;quot;I don&amp;#39;t mind it too much,&amp;quot; Gonzalez said. &amp;quot;I like being out there. I don&amp;#39;t really care.I always said that in college. You can put me at center if you want. Inside, outside, it doesn&amp;#39;t make a difference to me. I just enjoy being out there.&amp;quot;Gonzalez played the outside receiver position somewhat while at Ohio State, but made a name for himself playing in the slot.&amp;quot;I played a little bit out there,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;quot;Honestly it&amp;#39;s kind of rewarding because coming out of college a lot of people said I couldn&amp;#39;t play outside ... so to do it and kind of prove to myself and I guess maybe in some ways to other people is somewhat rewarding.&amp;quot;In Gonzalez we trustGonzalez is starting to gain the trust of the team&amp;#39;s ultimate perfectionist, quarterback Peyton Manning, due to his ability to adjust during a game by cutting off his routes when the quarterback is in trouble.Gonzalez admitted that he played a little robotically his rookie season and feels more comfortable playing in his second year.Head coach Tony Dungy couldn&amp;#39;t say enough when he talked about the progress of Gonzalez during a press conference.&amp;quot;He&amp;#39;s doing about what we thought he would do,&amp;quot; Dungy said of the young receiver. &amp;quot;He has some skills, quickness in and out of cuts, he has good hands, all those things that you look for. With most guys, it&amp;#39;s really assimilating into this offense and learning what to do and adjustments and how to run the same route against different coverages that you see and where to expect the ball. Those are the kinds of things that he is picking up on that are really helping him. He&amp;#39;s going to be a good receiver for us.&amp;quot;Do you love Fantasy Football? Click here: ]]></description>
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<title>OSU LB Freeman has answer to winning big game </title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1120</link>
<description><![CDATA[Look for the presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain to take a back seat to Saturday&amp;#39;s Sept. 13 matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes and USC Trojans. This primetime event will be the only thing on the minds of patriotic football fans come game day.Just in case you&amp;#39;re here from another planet, USC is ranked No. 1 in the nation while the Buckeyes are ranked No. 5. If you think the fans are jacked up about this clash of the titans, imagine the adrenaline high the players must be on.I found out firsthand during a phone interview with linebacker and former Wayne High School standout Marcus Freeman on Tuesday night. He was upbeat, positive and talked about the magnitude of the big game.&amp;quot;Many people would be lying if they said this was just another game because it is not,&amp;quot; Freeman said. &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s the biggest game in the country this weekend, and many people will be watching. I think once the whistle blows, then it will be just another football game. There&amp;#39;s a lot of hype going into the game and we are extremely excited, but at the same time it&amp;#39;s still football and we have to play our game.&amp;quot;The 6-foot-2, 239-pound Freeman is the cornerstone of the team&amp;#39;s linebacking corps in my opinion. He finished last season second on the team in tackles with 109 and has 12 tackles in two games this season. He is one of the unsung heroes on defense, getting the job done game after game. Freeman&amp;#39;s presence on the field is cause for concern among opposing offenses. He&amp;#39;s fast, quick, strong, very athletic and is highly intelligent.The senior linebacker knows exactly what it will take for the Buckeyes defense to contain USC&amp;#39;s high-powered offense.&amp;quot;First, we are going to have to be able to tackle,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;They have a very talented football team and you don&amp;#39;t want a lot of missed tackles giving them a second chance to make plays. That&amp;#39;s something that we cannot afford to do.&amp;quot;Another thing is we&amp;#39;ve got to have gang tackling,&amp;quot; Freeman said. &amp;quot;There are going to be some missed tackles, and we have to make sure that we have a group of guys flying to the football to make up for those missed tackles.&amp;quot; Freeman said it&amp;#39;s not in the team&amp;#39;s mindset to lose, but if by chance that should happen, the Buckeyes will not return home to Columbus with their tails between their legs. In other words, the Trojans will know they&amp;#39;ve been in a dogfight when the play clock reads zeros across the board.Did the Buckeyes look past Ohio? Some in the media have accused Ohio State of looking past underrated Ohio and looking ahead to highly touted USC. The Bobcats gave the Buckeyes all they could handle until the fourth quarter.Freeman set the record straight about the team&amp;#39;s sputtering performance against Ohio.&amp;quot;Last week was our first test of the season,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;We were tested in an adverse situation. Although we didn&amp;#39;t plan to be in that situation, I think it showed the character of our football team. No matter what the situation looks like, we&amp;#39;re going to keep fighting.&amp;quot;As far as some people saying that we looked past Ohio and were looking at USC, I feel that&amp;#39;s a little disrespectful to the way that OU played. They played a tremendously good football game. Ohio is a good football team and they played extremely well. I think we really prepared well for them but just didn&amp;#39;t play well.&amp;quot;]]></description>
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<title>Steelers reunite Roethlisberger and Nance</title>
<link>http://www.bigcprofootball.com/articles/viewarticle.php?id=1119</link>
<description><![CDATA[Peaches and Herb sang &amp;quot;Reunited&amp;quot; and Bruce Springsteen sang &amp;quot;Glory Days.&amp;quot; Either way, it&amp;#39;s music to the ears of a couple of college teammates.Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Martin Nance are being reunited in hopes of sparking some magic from their college playing days.The Steelers made it official when they signed the 6-foot-3, 213-pound former Miami RedHawks receiver to the team&amp;rsquo;s practice squad on Monday, adding depth to the position. &amp;nbsp;Roethlisberger has publicly expressed his desire for bigger receivers which prompted the team to draft Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed (2nd round, 53rd overall) but he was inactive for his first game as a pro. It appears that the Steelers have heard the quarterback&amp;rsquo;s cry and are loading up on big receivers with the addition of Nance. To make room for Nance the team released rookie wideout Micah Rucker.During a phone interview with Nance on Tuesday, the receiver talked about being reunited with his former college quarterback. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s very exciting,&amp;rdquo; Nance said. &amp;ldquo;Anytime you get a chance to play with a good friend it&amp;rsquo;s a fun opportunity and obviously the Steelers are a great team. I feel like it&amp;rsquo;s a great opportunity for me all the way around.&amp;rdquo; Nance said he&amp;rsquo;s ready to hit the ground running on his first day of practice with the Steelers.Nance spent the last two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and was released by the club on the final day of cuts. The decision came as a bit of a surprise to some after an impressive preseason by Nance, who led the team with 130 yards receiving and a touchdown. Viking head coach Brad Childress tossed a compliment along to Nance, saying he&amp;#39;s well-rounded.&amp;ldquo;He&amp;rsquo;s got good hand-eye [coordination]. He&amp;rsquo;s a tall target so the quarterbacks don&amp;rsquo;t have any trouble finding him. He&amp;rsquo;s got kind of sneaky speed. He&amp;rsquo;s a long-stride guy and he can chew up some ground pretty quick on you. Then he&amp;rsquo;s pretty meticulous about depth of route, understanding what his conversions are - man and zone,&amp;rdquo; Childress said.Nance hopes to rekindle the chemistry that he and &amp;ldquo;Big Ben&amp;rdquo; once displayed during college, but he must first find his way onto the team&amp;rsquo;s 53-man roster.After a breakout season his sophomore year (2003) when he was Roethlisberger&amp;rsquo;s go-to-guy, Nance racked up 1,498 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns and was well on his way to prominence. However, a season-ending knee injury suffered in the fifth game the following season (2004) put somewhat of a damper on the receiver&amp;#39;s career.&amp;ldquo;Rekindling what Ben and I had in college would be the storybook ending to it all, but I have a lot of work to do,&amp;rdquo; Nance said. &amp;ldquo;I have to get up to speed and learn the team&amp;rsquo;s offense. Once that happens, I think there will be an opportunity for us to play together again but that has to come naturally. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll have the opportunity to go against a great defense day in and day out in practice. This will also give me the opportunity to pick up the offense here. It&amp;rsquo;s going to be a learning experience for me, but at the same time I&amp;rsquo;m excited to get out there and show the coaches and team what I am capable of doing.&amp;rdquo; Learning the Steelers offense should be no problem for the receiver after having success learning the complex West Coast offense that the Vikings ran in Minnesota.According to the Vikings, Nance is healthy, strong and has demonstrated the athletic ability he displayed before the ACL injury he sustained in college. Nance was also called a high-character guy and a player with a future in the NFL.Do you love Fantasy Football? Click here: ]]></description>
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