Marshawn Lynch Goes Beast Mode Again

In a play that is eerily reminiscent of what happened last year against the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs, Marshawn Lynch once again defies all odds with a mind-blowing touchdown run. This guy just cannot be brought down when he goes "Beast Mode", as he calls it.

It's a good nickname, because this beastly running back is pretty fun to watch in action.

And here is the play from the 2010/2011 Wild Card Game, in case you forgot....

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More Free Agent Frenzy!

Sorry for the barrage, but the updates are coming in that fast.

It has been revealed that the remaining stud free agent wide receiver, Sidney Rice, has agreed to a five-year deal worth $41 million, with $18.5 million guaranteed. This is a crushing blow to the Minnesota Vikings, who were very much hoping to retain Rice's services

Seattle now has an extremely formidable receiving corps in place, headed by Rice. The others in this group are Mike Williams, Brandon Stokeley, Golden Tate and John Carlson. Even with mediocre quarterbacks Charlie Whitehurst and Tavaris Jackson under center, the Seahawks are going to have a nasty air attack in 2011.

Another notable signing has been the departure of Giants defensive tackle Barry Cofield to the rival Washington Redskins, for a deal reportedly worth $36 million over 6 years. Though this was an expected departure, there is no comfort in the fact that a solid defensive player has joined the defense of a division rival. Look for that match up to be an interesting one in 2011.

A smaller free agent deal that has been agreed to today is the Bruce Gradkowski to Cincinnati deal. Joining the long list of quarterbacks who have moved around this week. Gradkowski will play the mentor role in Cincinnati as the Bengals try to develop rookie Andy Dalton.

Lastly, Paul Posluszny of the Buffalo Bills has left his former team to join the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars. Talk about moving from one bad situation to another!

That's all we have for you right now at JZSports, stay tuned as the free agent avalanche continues!

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Quarterbacks on the Move

Well, we are in the second day of the NFL off season, and business is proceeding at a breakneck pace.With free agency set to begin Friday and the trade floor already open, teams are making big moves to acquire the players they need.

The Tennessee Titans have reportedly reached a deal with the former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who is now an unrestricted free agent. The Titans will bring him in to mentor their first round pick, Washington State quarterback Jake Locker. This is a brilliant move by the Tennessee Titans, as Locker is raw and not ready to step out under center right now. The Titans have decided to "Go the Aaron Rodgers Way" and they won't be sorry. Letting promising young quarterbacks sit for a while behind a skilled veteran is good for business.

Speaking of the Seattle Seahawks, they have agreed to a deal with Minnesota Vikings free agent Tavaris Jackson. Jackson is no premiere starter, but nor is he a slouch, and he is certainly more NFL ready than Charlie Whitehurst. This is a good band-aid move by the Seahawks, who are either looking to slowly develop Whitehurst or go for a strong quarterback in the 2012 draft.

Also involving the Minnesota Vikings (This is just one big circle isn't it?), is the first trade of the year. The Washington Redskins are receiving two future sixth-round draft picks in exchange for veteran Donovan McNabb. Why is a possible hall of famer being exchanged for peanuts? Simply because the Washington Redskins have no bargaining power with him; he is leaving either way. Minnesota is getting a sweet deal here, as they now have the crafty McNabb to teach rookie Christian Ponder. That is a win-win for them, as they have a solid veteran to lead their otherwise playoff-caliber squad, and once McNabb is done, Ponder will be far more prepared than if they threw him to the wolves in week 1.

That's all we have for now on player movement. Next on everyone's list of questions, what will happen with Kevin Kolb, Kyle Orton, Carson Palmer and Vince Young? Stay tuned, JZSports will give you those answers!

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Pigskin at its Best

"Three of the four NFL playoff games this weekend figure to be played in arctic conditions and the results could lead to the ultimate showdown — Green Bay at Chicago."                                 

                                                                               ~ Chris Erskine, LA Times

As football fanatics salivate in preparation of the second week of playoff football, Chris Erskine of the LA Times presents the possibility of the NFC championship game out-doing the Superbowl. He predicts the Packers to beat the Falcons and the Bears to beat the Seahawks, giving fans the chance to witness another January rivalry game in the tundra that will be nothing short of hard-hitting with a plethora of blood stained jerseys walking off the field in the end. Personally I do see the Packers overcoming the highly-touted Falcons but the Seahawks defeating the Bears, not allowing Erskine's duel to occur. To read the full article, click here.

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh... A hard-nosed rivalry, this one will be fought  hard on both sides, with plenty of blood and bone-breaking. Watch for hard hits by Harrison and Reed, two hungry veterans who know what it takes to win. Ray Lewis will be his usual self, riling his teammates and letting loose on blind-sighted tight ends, while Roethlisberger will find gaps in their vulnerable secondary and will take this one with a 20-17 win.

Green Bay @ Atlanta... With the week off Atlanta loses momentum. The Packers resemble the 2008 Giants who surged through the playoffs as the underdogs with a 10-6 record to beat the undefeated Patriots. The Packers are hungry, humble and ready to make noise. Aaron Rodgers will get routine pressure from John Abraham and the Atlanta defense but will elude it by scrambling as he does so well and finding Jennings consistently. Packers win by 10.

Seattle @ Chicago... Seahawks are on a roll and Chicago has a streaky offense and an overrated quarterback in Cutler. This picture resembles the face Mike Martz will have after seeing his quarterback face constant pressure and throw consistently wild chucks to his receivers. Seahawks win in their second upset of the playoffs, finally reaching .500 at 9-9. Win by 7.

New York @ New England... Jets have a chance to make a statement and Rex Ryan has them believeing, albeit talking too much (Cromartie). In the game of the week, there will be hard hits and emotions flying high. Jets win by 3 and propel themselves into the AFC Championship, having to face yet another elite team in the Steelers.

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"Beast Mode" Rears its Head

On Saturday night, the only person as unhappy as the New Orleans Saints and their fans was Buffalo Bills General Manager Buddy Nix. Nix surely watched angrily from his couch, as the running back he traded away railroaded one of the NFL's more vaunted defenses for a 67-yard touchdown run, all but sealing one of the greatest postseason upsets of all time.

Lynch started off strong in the NFL with consecutive 1,000 yard seasons after being drafted number 12 overall by the Bills in 2007, citing being in "Beast Mode" during games as the reason for his success. However, the beast was tamed in 2009 when he ran into legal troubles and injuries, resulting in a meager 450 yard season on 125 carries.

The legal issues and slowed production caused Buddy Nix to trade him to the Seahawks 3 games into the 2010 season, where he again had a subpar year as the Seahawks went 7-9 and miraculously won their division. However, Beast Mode emerged once again with 3:37 to go in the Wild Card game against the heavily favored Saints. In a play designed to run the clock down, the Beast decided to break out of its cage. Trucking through linebackers and defensive linemen, Lynch roared into the secondary, tossing Tracy Porter with a powerful stiff arm and putting on a burst of speed to roll into the endzone, looking like the back everyone knew he was at Cal. The run caused such an uproar at Qwest field that a nearby seismic monitoring station registered it as a small earthquake.

The Seahawks can only hope that the Beast is here to stay as they travel to Chicago to face the 2-seed Bears. The fans, the coaches, the teammates, everyone wants to see that moment this week where the Beast will roar, and somewhere in Buffalo, I'm sure Buddy Nix is using a photo of C.J Spiller as a dartboard.

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