17 Dec 10 NFL Patriots At Lions: Lions Feast on the Patriots on Thanksgiving Day

Leon Halip/Getty ImagesIn the first game of the Thanksgiving football slate, the Detroit Lions will host the New England Patriots. The latest NFL odds released by online sportsbook BetMania have the Patriots listed as seven point favorites. Although the Lions are getting seven points in this game, the Lions will win this game on the field. The Lions are much better than their record would indicate and they have lost some close games to some very good teams. Five of the Lions’ eight losses have been by five points or Reebok Minnesota Vikings #84 Randy Moss Realtree camo Jersey
fewer. They lost by three points to the Eagles, two points to the Packers and just three points to the New York Jets. They are playing good football despite losing quarterback Matthew Stafford to an injured shoulder. There is no doubt that the New England Patriots are playing some pretty good football too. The Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and are 8-2 on the season tied atop the AFC East with the New York Jets. Quarterback Tom Brady is having a stellar season and is leading the Patriots to another post season berth. So how can anyone believe that Brady and the Patriots would lose to the lowly Lions? First, it is a huge letdown game for the Patriots. They just finished a two game set against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Colts, two of the premiere teams in the NFL. What Will be the Outcome of this game?What Will be the Outcome of this game?Patriots win by double digits36.6%Lions win in a close game34.7%Patriots win in the last minute15.0%Lions shock the Patriots in a blow out10.7%Who Cares? I will be eating Turkey!2.9%Total votes: 513Secondly, the Patriots will be looking past this game. After the holiday stop in Detroit, the Patriots will play a revenge game against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football for the division lead. For those of you that think head coach Bill Belichick will not allow his team to look past this game will just have to be reminded of how hard they fell against the Cleveland Browns before a big game against the Steelers. Finally, the Patriots Reebok Pittsburg Steelers #83 Heath Miller Realtree camo Jersey
defense is vulnerable against this offense. The Patriots defense rose to the occasion against Peyton Manning with three interceptions, but that is deceiving. The majority of those interceptions were poorly run routes by wide receivers getting adjusted to Manning. The pass defense still allowed almost 400 yards through the air and is ranked 30th in the NFL in total defense, and 31st against the pass, which plays into the strength of the Lions offense. The Lions have the sixth-most passing yards in the NFL this season and rank sixth in the league in passing. The Patriots' defense is among the league's worst in points allowed and passing yards allowed and will have no answer for Calvin Johnson at wide receiver. The Lions will play in front of a sold out stadium and will move the ball on offense. The Lions defense is decent against the pass, ranking 13th in the NFL and will provide a decent pass rush. The Lions rank 6th in sacks in the NFL and will put Brady under pressure all day long. The Lions will beat the Patriots on Thanksgiving and pull of the biggest upset in the NFL this week. Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews and predictions. Feel free to contact Matt at mregawgmail.com.More Reebok Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald Realtree camo Jersey
Football Articles: Arkansas vs LSU: Winner to a BCS Bowl? Alabama vs Auburn: Iron Bowl Outcome Wisconsin, Michigan State, or Ohio State: Who wins the Big Ten?NFL Picks for Every game in Week 12 Against the Spread New England Patriots at Detroit Lions: Upset For The Lions?Thanksgiving Football Pick 'em Free Contest

16 Dec 10 NFL Thanksgiving: Things I Am Thankful For

Thankful he is on his way out SATIRE ; Thanksgiving is here—can't believe it. It kinda crept up this year. Even more shocking to me is that we are in Week 12 already. Seems like just yesterday I was counting down the days until opening day. But here we are, so here are things Reebok Oakland Raiders #21 Nnamdi Asomugha Realtree camo Jersey
I am thankful for this NFL season:
1. I’m thankful that there are three games on Thanksgiving because otherwise we would have nothing else to do but talk to our relatives. This year when the Detroit Lions game is on and we use the excuse, “Hey this game is getting good, I want to watch it” to get out of a conversation with someone we see once a year, we may actually mean it.
2. Thanking coaches for their time. Brad Childress, I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did, and thankful because I don’t think any owner ever again will hire this man to coach his football team.
Would it surprise anyone if he were a high school football coach next year? That or he will portray Mr. Burns in the real-life movie version of the Simpsons. Also, I'm thankful that we won’t have to hear him talk anymore. Every time he opened his mouth it sounded like he was giving a eulogy.
Marvin Lewis, Terrell Owens has done it again. At this point last year the Bengals were 8-2, and now by adding Owens and not losing anyone else they are 2-8.
The 49ers are probably the worst coached team in the NFL...eh, they are the worst. If there is a record for calling timeouts and delay of game penalties and no one having any idea of what they are doing after any kind of dead ball, the 2010 San Francisco 49ers have it. What’s even Reebok Pittsburgh Steelers #86 Hines Ward Realtree camo Jersey
worse is that at 3-7 they still have a legitimate shot at the playoffs.
You're still alive, Mike Singletary. Maybe if you keep saying we need more effort, you’ll get to 5-11.
Gary Kubiak, has any team ever stolen more victories while giving away even more in any one season than the Texans? He is as good as out. And watching the craziness that is Mike Shanahan, having Kubiak be a direct disciple of Shanahan probably won’t help him, either.
John Fox, to be fair, has almost no talent to work with. Plus, I think they are making him start Jimmy Clausen, who gives the Panthers less than a zero percent chance of winning any game.
3. I am thankful that this is Brett Favre’s last season…I hope. I don’t know why, but I see him playing for the Arizona Cardinals next year. Good thing I’m usually wrong about everything.
4. I am thankful for Icy Hot and alcohol. Flag football is a tradition on Thanksgiving morning, and if you play one flag football game a year like I do (usually hungover, too) you need both of these the rest of the day, all day, and probably even more the next day.
5. Thankful for leftovers and not just turkey sandwiches on Friday, but these guys on draft night…Kyle Orton, Peyton Hillis, Darren McFadden, Steve Johnson, Brandon Lloyd, Mike Williams. That’s a championship squad right there of mostly undrafted guys.
6. At this point of the season you either love fantasy football or hate it. Either way, if you’re involved, you are thankful for it. Thankful for Arian Foster, if you own him—I bet you whoever has him in your league is in contention for a playoff spot, at the very least.
7. Also, is there anything worse than having someone talk to you about the fantasy league that you’re not in? I'm also thankful I didn’t draft Randy Moss in any league (see how annoying it is to have people talk about their own league, especially if you have Moss and continue to start him?).
8. Thankful that the Cincinnati Bengals are losing. Imagine how much more Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco would be on TV if they had a winning team?
9. Thankful that there is a white running back starting in the NFL and that he is actually good. Peyton Hillis, it’s just fun to see.
10. Thankful the Raiders finally once again resemble an NFL team. Yeah, they looked brutal on Sunday, but really they had no shot at winning. They were playing at Pittsburgh, who was coming off a bad loss, and playing at 10 a.m. Pacific time. They probably won’t make the playoffs, but at least they are justifying the Richard Seymour trade, so thankfully they won’t be giving up that high of a No. 1 pick.
The biggest turkey award goes to Brad Childress. This team was one play away from the Super Bowl and now is a 3-7 team loaded with turmoil. Not only was Brett Favre’s last NFL season (again we hope) a forgettable one, one of Adrian Peterson’s prime football Reebok Pittsburgh Steelers James Harrison Realtree camo Jersey
years was lost in fantasy football land.
The pumpkin pie awards (or whatever is the best part of the meal) goes to all the QBs out there. Granted, they get all the credit as it is, but is there any scenario where a QB won’t get the MVP award this year? Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers, Matt Ryan and why not Josh Freeman? It’s gotta be some QB winning it, as usual.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
TheSportsGospel.com

Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints Thanksgiving Post-Film Study Review

If you haven’t read my initial post-game notes/observations, please do. I uncovered a lot of interesting information after reviewing the Cowboys-Saints film this week, so enjoy. . .
Marion Barber is out for at least a week or two. I never want players to get injured, but this is one of the best things that could happen to the Cowboys. Barber looked awful again on Thanksgiving, stumbling on an incredible three handoffs before even getting touched. He tries to run around Vikings Brett Favre jersey
defenders now instead of through them, but he doesn’t possess the agility to do that effectively. His only above-average quality is his pass protection ability.
Tashard Choice will be the recipient of an increased workload during Barber’s absence. I can say with full confidence that you’ll observe a noticeable difference between Choice’s explosion, balance, and vision and that of Barber. Choice may not be “incredible” at anything, but he’s really solid at everything. This is his chance to prove he deserves a larger role in 2011, and I expect him to perform well.
The Cowboys lined up with an unbalanced offensive line on three plays against the Saints.
As you can see, the “Unbalanced Right Strong Right” formation above employs Martellus Bennett as the left tackle and Doug Free as the tight end. Bennett is obviously not an eligible receiver on the play, but I still love the look. For one, Bennett is one of the team’s best blockers, regardless of position. Any drop in blocking ability from Free to Bennett is made up for by the fact that the look is confusing to the defense. It can cause alignment problems and just gives a defense more to think about pre-snap.
One knock on this formation is that it gives away too much information before the snap. Bennett must stay in to block, and it’s unlikely the Cowboys would ask him to protect Jon Kitna’s blind side by himself. Thus, whatever play the ‘Boys call will almost certainly be a run. Secondly, do you think the team is more likely to run behind Bennett and Kyle Kosier, or Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo, Doug Free, and Jason Witten?
So how did the Cowboys overcome these issues? Jason Garrett did an excellent job of using the first two plays from the formation as “set up plays” early in the game. On these plays, the Cowboys ran just where you’d think they would: in the “4 hole” behind all of the big boys. On the third and final play, however, the Cowboys faked the lead to Felix Jones and handed the ball off to Miles Austin on an end-around. The result? A 60-yard touchdown run. Tremendous design and execution.
The illegal shift penalty called on Dez Bryant (the one over which he was fuming) was the correct call. He mistakenly lined up off of the line of scrimmage, leaving the right tackle uncovered. When he noticed it and moved up, Sam Hurd was already in motion and never came to a stop (if he had, Bryant’s movement would have been a legal shift).
The Cowboys ran a season-high 74 offensive plays on 2010 pro bowl 4 Brett Favre Blue jersey
Thanksgiving.
Dallas had 14 plays in the red zone–five passes for 26 yards and nine runs for 12 yards and two touchdowns.
33 of the Cowboys’ plays came out of Shotgun, although many of those were out of necessity (the team’s final 11 plays were from Shotgun).
Garrett obviously tried to confuse the Saints before the snap. The Cowboys motioned on exactly half (37) of their offensive plays, a rate much higher than the 30.3 percent clip at which they came into the game. That included 21 of the first 31 plays.
Kitna again showed he can recognize a defense’s weaknesses and check into the proper play. He did so four times—two runs for eight yards and two passes for 27 yards.
The Cowboys got lucky with Reggie Bush. Even though his production was nil, he was open a few times and either didn’t get targeted or dropped the ball. Perhaps Dallas knew something I didn’t, but placing Sean Lee on Bush never seems like a good idea.
Dallas attacked the middle of the Saints’ defense on the ground. One of the guards (either Kosier or Davis) was at the point-of-attack on 22 of the team’s 26 designed runs (84.6 percent). It isn’t uncommon for a guard to be at the point-of-attack, but that rate is unusually high.
In my pre-game notes, I predicted the Cowboys would run a lot of draws, counters, playaction passes, and screens to take advantage of the aggressiveness of New Orleans defense. They did all four quite often. They dialed up eight draws for 24 yards and four counters for 67 yards. Kitna also faked a handoff on an incredible 11 passes (for 90 yards) and threw a screen eight times for 42 yards. All in all, 29 of the Cowboys’ offensive plays (39.2 percent) were either a draw, counter, playaction pass, or screen.
We saw the return of the dreaded “Double Tight Right Strong Right” formation (or a variation of it, such as “Double Tight Left Strong Left” or “Double Tight Right I”). Garrett called it 12 times, and all but three were strong side dives. Those nine plays went for 12 total yards. Meanwhile, the three non-strong side dives from the formation (two passes and a toss) went for 23 total yards. Unfortunately, the toss play was the early fourth down attempt to Barber that went for no gain.
Read my full analysis on the formation here.
With the abundance of screens and playaction passes came few downfield throws. Remember, the Cowboys rarely throw the ball downfield following a playaction fake (of their 83 playaction passes last year, only FOUR were thrown 20-plus yards). Of Kitna’s 42 passes against the Saints, only FIVE traveled 10-plus yards, and only one went 20-plus yards. Meanwhile, 26 of the passes traveled five yards or less. I’m by no means an expert on NFL offenses, but I think the Cowboys should probably throw the ball 10-plus yards more than 11.9 percent of their passes (and 6.8 percent of all plays).
Kitna really had an up-and-down game. He only had 12 incompletions, but nine of those were the result of off-target passes. Nine off-target passes are way too many when you’re asked to throw the ball downfield only five times all game. He also failed to throw a touchdown.
Of the team’s 47 called passes, Witten was in a route on 34 of them (72.3 percent), which is about average for him. Dallas gained only 53 total yards on the 13 plays he stayed in to block, and 24 of those yards came on one play.
Garrett obviously made a conscious effort to “protect” struggling right tackle Marc Colombo. Of the 66 plays with a tight end lined up next to one of the offensive tackles, 44 of them (66.7 percent) were “right-handed,” i.e., the tight end(s) was next to Colombo. I realize Dallas is a right-handed team, but it’s clear an effort is being made to “hide” Colombo.
A reader pointed out that, after the game, Drew Brees stated he was able to beat Terence Newman deep because the Cowboys played the same coverage a bunch of times in a row and he knew it was coming. His claim seems truthful since the Saints had the courage to throw the ball deep on a crucial 3rd-and-1 play. Although Paul Pasqualoni has done a nice job of employing some unique looks and more zone coverage to help the secondary, I thought his play-calling on Thursday was unoriginal and predictable. The Saints obviously agree.
I was shocked that the Saints didn’t blitz Dallas early in the game. Of the Cowboys’ first 64 offensive plays, New Orleans blitzed only eight times. I was even more stunned by their strategy late in the game, as they blitzed on the final 10 plays. They weren’t just simple A-gap blitzes either, but unique, exotic blitzes in which defenders came from unexpected places. I’m positive the Saints had a “two-minute defense” installed for this game that was radically different from 2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
their approach in the first 58 minutes of the game, as they weren’t running the same play, even as Dallas was in a no-huddle offense. What an incredibly innovative and unexpected move.
Despite the blitzes, I thought Garrett’s play-calling on the final three plays was horrible. Bryant was targeted on all three passes despite not recording a reception all game. Further, the Cowboys had just burned the Saints over and over by slipping Witten into the flat. With the offense needing only five yards or so to give David Buehler a realistic field goal look, why not go to Witten again? I watched Buehler’s missed field goal again and again, and I think it would have been good if it was from 54 yards instead of 59.
Dallas Cowboys Times is on Twitter.
Subscribe to our free e-mail updates.

NFL Lines: New York Jets Getting 3.5 Points at New England Patriots on Monday

Chris Trotman/Getty ImagesIt doesn’t get any better than this. The New York Jets and New England Patriots are all set to do battle for AFC East supremacy on the Monday Night Football stage.Both teams improved to 9-2 with Thanksgiving wins and share the best record in the league. Colts jersey
The Patriots kicked off Thanksgiving with a 45-24 victory at Detroit and the Jets closed it out with a 26-10 win over Cincinnati.Round one went to the Jets back on Sept. 19, when they handed the Pats a 28-14 loss at the Meadowlands. Pulling off the season sweep will be no easy task considering the Patriots have won 25 in a row at home with Tom Brady under center. New York, however, has won eight in a row on the road dating back to last season.NFL lines makers have listed the Patriots as 3.5 points favorites, with the total set at 46.New England appears to be playing the better football of the two heading into Monday’s showdown. The Jets have won four in row, but two of those victories came in overtime at Detroit and Cleveland. The Jets also needed a touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining to hold on against Houston.The Jets needed two big plays from Brad Smith, a 53-yard touchdown scamper and an 89-yard kickoff return or they could have been in for another close call Thursday.While New York hasn’t put together a complete game in recent weeks, it continues to find ways to win and that’s the only thing that matters.The Jets especially have to be encouraged by the way the defense put the game away against Cincinnati, recording three sacks, including a safety. It may be up to the defense and special teams again, if quarterback Mark Sanchez doesn’t play better this week.Sanchez finished just 16 of 28 for 166 yards with a nfl jersey
touchdown and an interception. It was a step back for the second-year signal caller after throwing for 937 yards with six touchdown strikes and three interceptions in his previous three games.Sanchez should be able to put together a better game against a New England defense that is ranked dead last against the pass. The Patriots are allowing 288.5 passing yards per game.In the season’s first meeting, Sanchez completed 70 percent of his passes for 220 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a season-best passer rating of 124.3. If Sanchez plays that well again, the Jets will be awfully tough to beat.It is worth noting that the Jets are 9-2 against the number in their last 11 road games.While the New England defense has given up big yards all season, Tom Brady and the offense have been able to outscore the opposition. The Patriots lead the NFL in scoring offense at 30.4 points per game.Brady appears poised for another MVP season. He has thrown for 1,101 yards with 11 Vikings jersey
touchdowns and no interceptions the last four games.While the Jets boast one of the best defenses in the league, defending the pass has been a weakness at times.Jimmy Boyd is a perfect 3-0 on the Monday Night Football stage the last three weeks with blowout winners on the Eagles, Chargers and 49ers. Make sure you check out his NFL picks this week for a fourth straight Monday Night Football winner!

Week 14 Fantasy TE Rankings & Analysis: A Good Playoff Tight End Is Hard To Find

Week 14 TE Player Rankingsbrought to you by pyromaniac.comRankings for QBs, RBs and WRs1. Jason Witten (vs Phi)Witten has put together a nice little second half of the season with Kitna as his QB. Now with Dez Bryant down for the season, you can bet he’ll be depended on even more. With the Philly D giving up the fourth most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this year, I feel a great game at home coming from Witten this Sunday night.2. Jacob Tamme (@ Ten)Tamme is still getting the targets from Manning—seeing another seven balls football jersey
come his way last week—though his production has been a little on the light side of late. Still, the Titans are amongst the bottom quarter of the league in allowing fantasy points to opposing tight ends, so drop-off or not, Tamme is a must play in all fantasy formats this playoff week.3. Antonio Gates (vs KC)Gates almost looked like his normal self last weekend, which was pretty much heaven to the eyes of fantasy owners across the country. The Chiefs are actually the second stingiest team when it comes to allowing fantasy points to tight ends this year, but Gates doesn’t quite play by the same rules as normal folk.4. Vernon Davis (vs Sea)Vernon looks like he’s back on the warpath again after his 126 yard, one TD outburst last weekend, and now he has his buddy Alex Smith back under center this week as well. Earlier this season, the two of them were really starting to make some noise together hooking up for TDs in each of the last four weeks Smith was healthy (Weeks 4-7).5. Brandon Pettigrew (vs GB)Drew Stanton was definitely looking Pettigrew’s way last game tossing him a team-high nine targets while connecting with him for five catches and 36 yards. Those numbers came against a Bears team that rarely gives up a thing to opposing tight ends, while this week’s game comes against a Packers team that just gave up a 126 yard outing with a TD to Vernon Davis and ranks amongst the worst in the league in guarding tight ends.6. Ben Watson (@ Buf)Watson is coming off a 10 catch, 100 yard performance with a TD last week and now goes up against a defense that gives up the second most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Get him in there if you can.7. Tony Gonzalez (@ Car)Gonzo hasn’t been nearly as dependable in the past, but against one of the worst defenses in the league in covering tight ends, you have to take a shot on him returning to form.8. Kevin Boss (@ Min)Manning will depend on Boss once again this week as he waits for his Buffalo Bills jersey
starting receivers to return from injury. This isn’t the greatest match-up for the big tight end to roll, but in a league left with slim pickings at the position, you could definitely do worse.9. Marcedes Lewis (vs Oak)Lewis is huge (6’6”, 275 pounds), but he’s also completely devoid of a pattern when it comes to his fantasy production. The Raiders aren’t very good at defending the tight end, so there’s some room for something to happen with him here.10. Greg Olsen (vs NE)The Patriots are in the lower third of the league in allowing fantasy points to tight ends. So even though Olsen is a non-factor most weeks in the Bears’ offense, he also has those weeks where his natural talent wins out… and it’s usually against teams like the Pats.11. Chris Cooley (vs TB)Cooley is a target-machine gathering in another 12 last week from McNabb to put him ahead of the pack in that category for tight ends on the season. However, he’s also only had two TDs and just two games where he’s put up 70 yards or better.12. Ed Dickson (@ Hou)The talented third-round pick out of Oregon will take over for the injured Todd Heap this week, and he couldn’t find a better game to come out in than against the league’s worst defense in pretty much every category you can think of. Watch out for this kid.13. Aaron Hernandez (@ Chi)Like last week, I can easily see the Pats using a two-tight end set for most of this game with Julius Peppers and the ferocious Bears D in front of them. If that’s the case, Hernandez will act as the pass-catcher with Gronkowski being the blocker once again.14. Tony Moeaki (@ SD)The Chiefs might have to go with Brodie Croyle this week, and if they do, Moeaki will be a consistent dump-off as the Chargers will look to take advantage of Croyle’s ineptitude.15. Kellen Winslow Jr. (@ Was)Winslow is fifth in the league in targets for tight ends, and with two TDs in the past cheap nfl jerseys
four weeks, he could be worth a shot despite his down-year.16. Jermaine Gresham (@ Pit)The Bengals will have to pass the ball to win this game, and against a tireless Steelers pass rush, Palmer might have to look for his ultra-talented tight end early and often in this one.Week 14 rankings for QBs, RBs and WRs

Pittsburgh Steelers Joey Porter James Harrison

To hear the Pittsburgh Steelers tell it, there's nothing wrong with Joey Porter that violent contact with a couple of NFL quarterbacks wouldn't cure.That arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week?"He could play right now if he hadn't had the surgery," said defensive coordinator 10 Santonio Holmes White jersey
Dick LeBeau. "This is more to make the long haul better for Joey."Those four spring practice sessions Porter missed, coupled with rumors that he'd like to parlay his 10.5 sacks last season into a fatter contract?"None of it is right," Porter growled when asked about published reports along those lines. "None of it."He then said he might stop talking to the media.Earlier, Porter implied he might share some opinions with President Bush "on the state of the country" when the Steelers visit the White House in June, then said he'd been "misinterpreted."Knowing Steeler coach Bill Cowher, he's probably glad to see Porter in ill humor. Perhaps it will carry over onto the field. "He just took time off to be with his family," Cowher said of Porter's spring practice absences. "That's his status right now."As for the knee, Porter had apparently played with slightly damaged cartilage throughout most of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2005 Super Bowl season. And the fact that he had "debris" cleaned out of his left knee only nine months earlier doesn't seem to bother the Pittsburgh training staff. Or so they say. Perhaps Steeler fans shouldn't read too much into the recent signing of former free agent linebacker James Harrison -- Porter's backup -- to a four-year deal worth $5.5 million.Still, Harrison's progress has to be encouraging. The 6-0, 242-pound Kent State grad had three 2005 sacks of his own, has proven to be a sure tackler, and scored on a 25-yard interception return last season during which he hurdled San Diego 10 Santonio Holmes black jersey
running back LaDainian Tomlinson.Harrison had a monster season as a Kent State senior in 2001 -- 98 tackles, 20 of them for loss, three interceptions and 15 sacks. Then he was cut by the Steelers before they brought him back two years later to sub for the injured Clark Haggins."It's no big deal," said Harrison of his increased exposure in Porter's absence. "It's just like he missed a game or something."And, indeed, things could be worse. Two years ago, on the eve of the regular season, Porter was shot outside a Denver nightclub. By the second game in 2004, he was playing again.Get more Pittsburgh Steelers news and information

San Francisco 49ers Willie Middlebrooks Denver Broncos

His road through the NFL might have ended with the 49ers, but his only just begun to navigate his path through the legal labyrinth.Earlier this month, former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Willie Middlebrooks pleaded guilty to chargers stemming from an altercation with a lady friend on New Years of 2005. He was handed an 18-month deferred jail sentence and order to attend nine months worth of domestic violence education courses. The misdemeanor assault occurred while Middlebrooks was still a member of Denver Broncos.As if his legal troubles weren't enough, the 27-year-old is dealing with the idea that his NFL playing days may be over. Middlebrooks was cut by the 49ers this past December after suffering a severe leg injury. He only played in two regular season games in 2005 after logging 6 Super Bowl Champions jersey black jersey
significant game action, mostly as a special teamer, for the Denver Broncos from 2001-2004.Now he faces the prospect of a long and arduous rehab in order to return to the NFL, and if he so chooses, he may very well return with the last team to give him a chance. The 49ers traded DE John Engelberger for his rights, with the hopes that he would upgrade their beleaguered secondary. Obviously, that didn't happen, but it doesn't mean that Middlebrooks won't be given another chance to catch on in San Francisco.He just needs to get healthy and stay out of trouble to get that chance.