Posts tagged AnquanBoldin at FanHouse

While he was Sorting the Sunday Pile this morning, Ryan Wilson touched on the murky waters that the NFL's rules governing helmet-to-helmet hits call home. Adrian Wilson of the Cardinals probably will be fined for his hit on Trent Edwards yesterday but he's unlikely to be suspended for the infraction. That's a pretty stark departure from the course set a week earlier when Eric Smith of the Jets picked up a suspension to go with his fine for whacking Wilson's teammate Anquan Boldin in the head.

The Jets announced today that Smith is appealing the suspension and I think he's got a strong case. Watching the play, it was clear that Smith's intent wasn't to hit Boldin in the head and the collision resulted from the receiver pinballing off of Kerry Rhodes into Smith. That's not to say Wilson intended to hurt Edwards, I don't think so, or even that his blow to the head was any more accidental than Smith's.

If Boldin hadn't been hurt, though, would the suspension have come down from Roger Goodell's office? We'll see. If the league's reaction to Wilson's hit and the handful of others that seem to happen each and every week is the same as Smith's, then he's got very little to complain about. But Smith shouldn't be singled out for the ugly scene that his hit caused, Boldin was immobilized and spitting blood, while others get lesser penalties for the same offense.

The second Adrian Wilson rocked Trent Edwards, this game was over.

The Buffalo Bills had played solid football all season en route to a 4-0 record heading into this desert tilt, and the Cardinals were coming off an embarrassing performance in the Meadowlands (against the not-good team that plays there, not the studly one). You knew the Cardinals would bounce back a bit at home, and the Bills were playing their second consecutive road game ... so a few pieces were in place for a hard-fought Cardinals victory.

As I said, though, those pieces were shattered the second J.P. Losman took the helm for Dick Jauron's troops. I doubt there ever was doubt, but if there was, it is all gone now. Losman cannot QB an NFL football team, and Trent Edwards can.

You could skew the numbers a bit if you wanted to paint the opposite picture. Losman completed 15 of 21 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown pass. Of course, 87 of those yards came on one long TD pass. That leaves 133 yards for the rest of the 14 completions ... in addition to the three turnovers.

Value Machine checks out the overall perceived value of fantasy players. If you want to commit a fantasy felony, you'll sell high on the up arrow guys and buy low on the down arrow guys.

Hopefully you traded Rashard Mendenhall, as we insinuated last week when we said his value will never be higher. Remember, fantasy sports are all about value and perception is reality in between games. Many owners flocked to Mendenhall last week because he was "replacing" Willie Parker. His perceived value skyrockets, which means it's the perfect time to spin him. Just keep this in mind as we move forward.

Top week four : Laveranues Coles ... He busted loose for 30 plus points in most leagues. The problem is that he didn't receive the majority of Brett Favre's attention and rarely will this result in three scores. Jerricho Cotchery, Chansi Stuckey, and Dustin Keller all take looks away from Coles. This was a one week ride, so hopefully you enjoyed it and can move him for good value this week.

Top week four : Carson Palmer ... He comes off his one good game of the season -- against a solid defense, no less -- and decides to not fully disclose his injury. Owners found out he couldn't go right before game time, and surely some guys were screwed over by this. Keep an eye on his health, because if he can come back, his owners will surely be pissed enough to deal him for less than market value.

You have already seen the video of Anquan Boldin getting absolutely destroyed by Eric Smith in the Jets - Cardinals blowout on Sunday. The NFL has now taken swift, and somewhat appropriate, action against Smith, by suspending him for one game and fining him $50,000.

Specifically, on a pass play on Sunday, Smith engaged in helmet-to-helmet contact with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who was in a defenseless position at the time contact was made.

The suspension will sideline Smith for the Jets' game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Oct. 12 following the Jets bye on Oct. 5. The $50,000 fine includes the game check Smith will forfeit for the week of his suspension.

That's a pretty good start. But frankly, as I mentioned earlier, there was absolutely no need for this hit. So seeing Smith walk away with just a one game fine when it could easily be longer than that until Boldin plays again seems a little unfair.

In fact, that kind of gives me the idea that maybe, in the event of a clear cut intentional (in my opinion) helmet-to-helmets like this, Roger Goodell should just start suspending the violator for the length of the injury sustained by the other party. I bet it would cut down on the number of times defenders led with their helmets at anyone else's head.

Eric Smith destroyed Anquan Boldin in yesterday's Cardinals/Jets game to the point that Boldin had to be taken off the field on a stretcher. It was a cheap shot -- helmet to helmet, natch -- which you will see if you wait for the replay to slow down.



The problems with this hit are astounding. First of all, what the hell was Ken Wisenhunt thinking here, having Boldin in during a blowout? More importantly though, what the hell was Smith thinking, throwing a helmet-to-helmet shot on Boldin during a blowout? It was a completely unnecessary injury and unfortunate that it had to happen.

On the bright side, Boldin is "alert" and moving his extremities, but still, totally unnecessary on a number of counts.

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

I'll admit that I scour as many other sites as possible before doing these rankings. Not for help, no, it's actually the exact opposite. I like to find out who I think people are really shortchanging or overrating. This week, Steve Smith jumped out at me. The Panthers are playing the Falcons at home. It's his first home game ... and dammit, does he get motivated when people doubt him. Don't make that mistake. He's going off, along with his teammate.

- Lee Evans and Chris Chambers are non-elite names that are set to have big days this week.

- I mentioned I like Derek Anderson to "right the ship" this weekend, and if that happens, Braylon Edwards will be prominently involved. Let's keep in mind that the Browns haven't exactly faced an easy schedule (Ravens, Steelers, Cowboys). There are too many weapons for this offense to not work against the Bungles.

- I'm ready to give up on Torry Holt, but not because he's not a good player anymore. He gets all the attention on the outside and his team is awful. A true victim of circumstance.

1. Brandon Marshall, @ KC
2. Larry Fitzgerald, @ NYJ
3. Steve Smith, vs. Atl
4. Terrell Owens, vs. Was
5. Anquan Boldin, @ NYJ

The Arizona Cardinals entered today's game with the Washington Redskins at 2-0 for the first time since 1991 (when current Redskins coach Joe Bugel was their head coach). They wanted to be the first Cards team to get to 3-0 since 1974.

They also wanted to beat the Redskins for the first time in seven meetings (and second of nine matchups).

Mistakes greatly hindered that. The Cardinals lost 24-17 due to drops, turnovers and bad penalties.

Arizona committed their first turnovers this season and failed to reach 20 points for the first time in ten games (dating back to last season). Even though their penalties weren't out of hand, they can at bad moments. On a 4th-and-1, the Cards were called for a delay of game penalty as they completed a pass for a sure TD.

They also had a variety of penalties on kick and punt returns -- negating some nice runs.

Value Machine checks the current value of non-obvious names -- no Tony Romo or Brian Westbrook here -- for owners looking to scope out the trade market.

For the record, the most egregious thing about Ed Hochuli's snafu is being overlooked by everyone. I officiate high school -- I understand I'm far less qualified to complain than an NFL official, but this does make me more qualified than someone sitting at their computer claiming the "refs cheated" -- and the worst part about the call was the fact that the ball went backwards. Even if Hochuli thought, in real time, Jay Cutler's arm went forward, the ball still went backwards. A backwards pass is a loose ball. How the referee can't see that from even with the QB is beyond me. People keep talking about the whistle, but it's not acceptable to blow it there. I still respect him as an official, because human error is part of the game. Human error like this, though, shouldn't happen in such a high level game.

Even without the extra points, that he never should have accrued, Cutler had another big game. With two young, studly receiving speedsters and a reliable tight end, this isn't likely to change anytime soon. This time, the Broncos actually played a legitimate defense. You don't want to expect around 30 points a week, but it's very reasonable to start expecting 20. Jay Cutler is your top for week two.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his face-mask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's our new feature, Studs and Duds:

We'll try to dissect a crazy Week 2, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Aaron Rodgers, QB Green Bay (24-38, 328 yards, 3 TDs): It wasn't exactly a walk in the park, but Rodgers first half performance was good enough to land him on the list. This was Rodgers showing everyone that he isn't some hack behind center, and you couldn't be more proud of a guy in his first two games. You also can't play the "it was against the Lions" card because Detroit looked fairly solid up until Jon Kitna remembered what team he played for.

This season, FanHouse writers take their cameras to NFL stadiums to document what happens when you stop being polite and start getting real. Or something. We've cleverly titled it "FanHouse in the Stands."

"The Cardinals. The Dolphins. It's the NFL ... on CBS!" Alright, so maybe Arizona hosting Miami isn't exactly the most glamorous matchup in the world, especially on a day where there were some absolutely epic games that went down in the League. But hey, it was the Cardinals' home opener, and after beating the 49ers last week -- something Arizona couldn't do in either of the teams' two meetings last season -- the fans were more than ready to cheer their club to a 2-0 start.

As weak as the NFC West has looked so far, the Cardinals appear to have a legitimate shot at winning the division -- which is something that definitely isn't being overlooked by their fans. They know that even this early in the season, games like these are a must-win if they want to have a shot at the playoffs. So against a team like the Dolphins -- who were clearly entering a classic letdown game -- the fans were smelling blood by kickoff time. Um, especially this guy.