Tuesday, July 29, 2008

PATS SIGN LAMONT "GROUND" JORDAN


Get it? Ground Jordan? Like Air Jordan, only on the Ground, because he's a runningback. Yeah, not too funny.

The Pats waited until the Raiders released Jordan, then signed him the same day. This move is yet another example of the evil geniuses at work in Foxborough. They KNEW Oakland had been shopping Jordan around the League, looking for someone to give them a 5th or 6th round draft pick. But they also knew nobody wanted him. So they wait for Oakland to cut him loose, then pick him up for nothing. Brilliant.

Jordan is a puzzle piece to this team, but hardly the proverbial "final piece.". The inconsistent running game became a growing problem as the 2007 season progressed, culminating in the Super Bowl, where Laurence Maroney gained a mere 36 yards on 14 carries.

Jordan is a solid runner that will challenge Morris for the #2 spot on the depth chart. The Pats often went with 4 RBs last year, and I wouldn't be shocked if they did the same in 2008. Jordan averaged 3.8 yards a carry, and had two 100+ yard rushing games for Oakland last season.

He's also a good ball handler. In 950 career touches, he's fumbled 7 times, and lost only 4 of those.

Source:
ESPN.com

DICE-K GETS ROLLED


This series is a meeting between the immovable object and the unstoppable force. The Angels are the best road team in baseball. The Red Sox are the best home team. The Angels took round 1 last night, thanks in large part to a 6 run 6th inning Daisuke meltdown.

Five runs should be enough for a win, but Daisuke's meltdown, combined with an additional run allowed by Masterson made that next to impossible. Manny continues to hit well since recovering from that horrific knee injury. He was 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and a homerun.

The Sox fall to 1-5 against the Angels, and have officially lost the season series. The Red Sox hadn't lost a season series to the Angels since 2001.

It doesn't look much better for Tuesday's game. 8-2 John Lackey takes on Clay Buchholz.

Source:
ESPN.com
Baseball-Reference.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa