The Infrequent I-10 Rivalry

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

There are some match-ups you would like to see more of, but due to the way inter-conference are set-up, these teams play each other at home once every eight years.

This was one of those.

Before a thumb injury sidelined New Orleans QB Drew Brees, I can only imagine how many local fans were looking forward to seeing the the all-time leading passer, who has 74,845 yards.

Sunday's match-up was suppose to feature Brees vs Nick Foles.

The Jaguars prize free agent hurt his shoulder in the first game of the year against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Instead, what we saw was a 4-1 Saints team facing a 2-3 Jaguars squad as Jacksonville started rookie Gardner Minshew II who faced Teddy Bridgewater.

If Jacksonville fans want to see Brees, they'll have to travel 547 miles and 7.50 hours on I-10 East to see these squads in New Orleans if the signal caller is still playing.

Going into this game there were some interesting connections between these two teams.

Jacksonville running back Leonard Fournette is from New Orleans and played his college ball at LSU. This is his first meeting against his hometown team.

His first act against the Saints was a solid one as he led the team in rushing and receiving. Fournette rushed for 72 yards and added 46 in the air.

Even though they've only met six times with New Orleans leading the series 4-2 and having a three game winning streak, from 2006-2008, Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone was the Saints Offensive Coordinator.

Marrone coached in the 2007 game on November 4, and the New Orleans Saints defeated Jacksonville 24-21 in Louisiana in front of 70,009 at The Superdome.

During Marrone's tenure with New Orleans, the Saints offense was potent.

New Orleans ranked first in total yards per-game (387.8), first in passing yards per-game (294.1) and third in points per-game with (26.1).

What would give in this Infrequent I-10 Rivalry?

If you were looking for a high scoring affair, you weren't getting it in the first half as the teams went into the locker room tied 3-3.

New Orleans had 125 net yards while Jacksonville amassed 110.

Jacksonville managed to hold up on defense despite the fact that Jalen Ramsey was ruled inactive.

The Jaguars defense limited Saints running back Alvin Kamara to eight yards. Kamara would finish with 66 total yards.

Minshew II went 8-15 for 80 yards.

In the second half, Jacksonville still didn't find it's offense and New Orleans mustered up enough to win the contest 13-6.

It was another win for Bridgewater, who is keeping the Saints in the playoff hunt while still auditioning for a starting job in free agency in 2020.

New Orleans improved it's record to 5-1 and lead the NFC South Division.

The Saints out gained Jacksonville in total yards 326-226.

Jacksonville had 11 first downs the entire contest.

This was Jacksonville's worst offensive game of the season.

The Saints defense limited Jacksonville wide receiver D.J. Chark Jr. to three receptions for 43 yards as he was double-teamed throughout the game.

Minshew II finished the game throwing for 163 yards and one interception.

The Saints have now defeated Jacksonville four consecutive times.

They lead the all-time series 5-2.

After the game, Marrone gave credit to the Saints but admitted there is a lot of work to do as his team get's ready to hit the road and face the 0-6 Cincinnati Bengals.

"Today was a hard fought defensive battle," Marrone said. "We did well in the running game but overall, our offense wasn't in sync. We were not able to make plays. I have to do a good job and get them to play in all three phases, offense, defense and special teams. That starts with me.

"I liked the effort today, they played hard but have to play better. At the end of the day they (Saints) are a good football team. They're one of the best teams we'll play all year. They play well at all three levels. Their secondary did a real good job and covered us real well. At the end of the day, those guys are a pretty good team.

"Leonard did a good job with his play getting all purpose yards, but we have to get first downs so we can get everybody involved."

Minshew II said, "today was a tough day and they're a good team. I missed some balls that I can't afford to miss. They did a good job taking away our quick stuff. We have enough guys who can make plays and we will do better."

The announced crowd was 64,341. There appeared to be a lot of Saints fans to make the trip.

The Jaguars return home on October 27, 2019 at 1 pm to face the New York Jets at TIAA Bank Field and see another up and coming QB in Sam Darnold.

The Jets (1-4) play the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football.

These next two games are very winnable for the 2-4 Jaguars, who hope to reach the .500 mark by the end of the month. The combined record of the Bengals and the Jets is 1-10.

The Jaguars proceeded to trade Ramsey to the LA Rams on Wednesday for two first round picks and a number four in the next two drafts.

The Bengals lost to the Baltimore Ravens 23-17 while the Jets defeated the Dallas Cowboys 24-22.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com and is the Founder and CEO of The South Florida Tribune and The South Florida Tribune Broadcasting Network.

Football Stories To Follow In 2018

BY  SCOTT MORGANROTH

It's hard to believe that in a matter of weeks that training camp will open for the NFL.  

It's been an interesting spring for myself, since I've had to deal with eye surgeries and now with shoulder injuries.  I'm probably the one sports writer that has more injuries then the athletes that I write about.  

I'm just hoping that I'll be feeling up to covering the Detroit Lions vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers here in Florida on August 24th at Raymond James Stadium.

    What we are going to do in this story is talk about four interesting story lines leading up to opening week.

    1) Dez Bryant - The Dallas Cowboys cut him after three non-productive seasons and have revamped their receiver core through free agency and the draft. 

Where will the unemployed Bryant subsequently land? 

Bryant had an opportunity to land with the Baltimore Ravens but passed on a contract offer. 

Initially Bryant wanted to stay in the NFC East but there was no interest in him. 

The only three places that make sense for me are the Green Bay Packers, the New Orleans Saints, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Bryant would actually be an ideal fit in Green Bay because you have a championship and future hall of fame quarterback in Aaron Rodgers throwing spirals to him. 

With the Cowboys, Bryant was known for his tirades with the teams quarterback as well as the coaching staff.

With Rodgers, I couldn't see any of that occurring because Aaron would definitely put him in his place.  If a receiver can't produce with Rodgers then he should be out of the league.  I still find it hard to believe that Jordy Nelson was let go during the off season. 

In New Orleans, Drew Brees is running the show, and like Rodgers has a championship pedigree and would be no nonsense towards Bryant antics.  With Green Bay and New Orleans, Mike McCarthy and Sean Payton would be able to tame Bryant's temper and if he was non-productive, Dez would be looking for another job immediately.

In Jacksonville, under the leadership of Tom Coughlin and Doug Marrone once again they're no nonsense disciplinarians who would also put Bryant in his place. 

Coughlin is a two time Super Bowl winning coach and is actually a God in Jacksonville because of the teams most successful years have occurred with him calling the shots.

Quarterback Blake Bortles is a most inexperienced of these quarterbacks and is long as Blake can accurately throw Dez the football, this could be a productive tandem and give Bryant an opportunity to resurrect his career,  in hopes of securing a longer term contract in 2019. 

2)  Blake Bortles - During the off season the Jags gave Bortles a contract extension for leading the team to the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots.  The Jags came up a little short in the fourth quarter and were unable to reach their first Super Bowl.

Bortles will have a tough road to get back to the post season as he faces Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, and a healthy DeShaun Watson of the Houston Texans.  The Tennessee Titans, led by QB Marcus Mariota always give the Jags a battle.

Will the Jaguars regret giving Bortles a contract extension? 

Time will tell.  If Jacksonville doesn't reach the post season then the critics will be like great white sharks and for a team that a year ago thought about acquiring New York Giants QB Eli Manning it will be interesting to see whether there are enough good options in free agency or whether to develop another signal caller through the 2019 draft. 

I will say this, if Bortles notching two playoff wins there are a lot of excellent quarterbacks who haven't even won a playoff game a couple that come to mind Andy Dalton, Mathew Stafford.  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

3) Jameis Winston - We are going to stay in the State Of Florida and talk about the signal caller for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Winston is a very lucky young man. 

Normally the NFL's suspension for violating the personal conduct policy is six games, instead he received a three game suspension for groping an Uber driver.  He was smart taking the suspension this year instead of next year where his contract is going to be much higher.

I have always found it to be a risky proposition when you draft a player at the top of the first round especially No. 1 overall when he has had a track record for personal conduct issues as he did at Florida State University.

Aside from the fact that he is a talented player, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wanted to draft an in state kid who they thought would have success on the field ad who would put fans in the stands. 

Winston has played for Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter.

Being absent for the first three games missing the Saints, Eagles and Steelers is a huge loss for Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers could start the season 0-3 and have their work cut out for them, unless Koetter can get a win or two out of experience backup Ryan Fitzpatrick. Koetter could very well be on the hot seat if the Buccaneers don't reach the payoffs.

I have friends in Tampa Bay that have told me that the local media and fan base would love to see the Buccaneers cut Winston and feel that is was a mistake that the team should have drafted Mariota. 

If the Buccaneers were to cut Winston, the 24 year old signal caller would easily get picked up by another team therefore, the Bucs are in a catch 22 situation.  They are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

One can only hope that Winston stays out of trouble because if he doesn't the NFL will permanently ban him and he will go down as a talented quarterback that became a BIG BUST.



4) Tom Brady - The former University of Michigan Quarterback will turn 41 by the time the regular season starts in September. 

One thing is for certain, he'll be inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame during his first year of eligibility after he retires when the five year waiting period is over. 

Brady is 5-3 in the Super Bowl and the three Super Bowl losses were tight contests twice against the New York Giants and once to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

 How long will Brady play until?  He seems to think he can play until he's 45.

But there is perception and there is reality. The most recent report indicated that Brady will play one more year. 

During the off-season, Brady did not train with the team and didn't attend off season training activities and voluntary workouts. 

Whether he was pondering retirement this year is something that he'll never admit to the public. 

During his career, Brady did once suffer a season ending injury and I can only imagine if he sustains another major injury whether father time will expedite his retirement. 

During this off-season, the Patriots had significant roster and coaching turnover.  Is there a sixth Super Bowl left for the former Wolverine or does the AFC have another team that will play in the biggest game on the planet in February?

Do the Patriots have Brady's replacement on their roster right now? 

I don't think so and that is the only way that I think he will stay as long as he can. 

But his waffling during the off-season makes me wonder whether he will ride off into the sunset like Peyton Manning and John Elway did, going out on top.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Scott Morganroth is a member of Detroit Spots Media. Candy Ebling contributed to this story.

What's Ahead For Lions?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

If you're looking to keep your head coach employed, Lions QB Matthew Stafford knows the formula.

Keep winning.

After throwing for 381 yards and a touchdown on December 10, 2017 on the road to defeat the Tampa Bay Bucs 24-21, Stafford had some interesting things to say about Coach Jim Caldwell's future.

"Listen man, we go out and play and he goes and coaches," Stafford said. "He understands part of the business, we understand, who knows. I'm not on social media so I don't give a crap but we just go play, man. We go play, he goes and coaches, our job is to win football games. That's what we're trying to do."

Against the Chicago Bears Saturday, December 16, 2017, Stafford's 237 yards and two touchdowns performance led Detroit to its second consecutive victory 20-10.

Detroit's record improved to 8-6 and the Lions continue to remain in the playoff hunt.

Lions Coach Jim Caldwell is guaranteed of the team at least finishing with a .500 record. 

After the Buccaneers game, the head coach addressed his job security and you can rest assure that anybody who addressed it Saturday would get the same answer we received in Tampa pertaining to his contract expiring at the end of 2018.

"We never, never ever, ever been in the practice of talking about contracts and anything of that nature, and we're certainly not going to start today," Caldwell said. "There's no (security) it's coaching. That's the way it is."

As for what's ahead for the Lions, on Monday Night, the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-21 to improve to 9-5.

Detroit remains one game behind Atlanta but the Falcons need some holiday cheer to get into the playoffs.

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2017, Atlanta travels to New Orleans to take on the high powering Saints (10-4).

We all know how dangerous QB Drew Brees is, but the two headed running back monster combination consisting of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara are good enough to shred any defense.

Ingram has rushed for 1,045 yards and 11 touchdowns. He's tallied 375 receiving yards.

Meanwhile, Kamara, has 652 yards carrying the rock with seven touchdowns. He's been an explosive receiver out of the backfield adding another 684 yards and five touchdowns.

Detroit needs this dynamic duo to have a big day.

On December 31, 2017, Atlanta faces Carolina QB Cam Newton, who is playing some of his best football leading the Panthers to a 10-4 mark, in Georgia.

In the Panthers 31-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers, Newton threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns. He had one of his favorite targets back as Tight End Greg Olson caught nine receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown.

The Lions lost to Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans, therefore the head-to-head tiebreaker works against them.

Detroit's playoff hopes rest firstly on them taking care of business.

First, the Lions have to win out against the Cincinnati Bengals, who just got crushed Sunday by the Minnesota Vikings 34-7 on the road. Like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati (5-9) could be looking for a new head coach when "Black Monday" takes place on January 1, 2018.

Second, they also need to beat the Green Bay Packers.  With the Packers (7-7)  now out of the playoffs, despite 290 yards and three touchdowns from Aaron Rodgers, the future Hall of Fame QB took a pounding against the Panthers which led to three interceptions.

Rodgers missed eight weeks because of a broken collarbone. He woke up very sore on Monday and appears to have aggravated the injury returning too soon.

Rodgers was put on season-ending injured reserve and Brett Hundley will be under center when the Lions play the Packers December 31, 2017 at Ford Field.

Also, will the game be changed to a later time than it's current 1 pm slot and be on National TV?

In the past few years, when there have been playoff implications, the game time has been switched.

But once again, Sunday's action will give us more answers.

If Detroit loses at Cincinnati, then none of what we're discussing means anything.

So the question remains, will Santa Claus deliver the Lions two victories and the Falcons two losses?

As for Caldwell, I'll continue to say this as I have all year.

If you fire him, who are you going to replace him with?

Are you going to bring in New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels, who worked with General Manager Bob Quinn in Massachusetts?  Even if this happens, there are no guarantees that this move would work.

McDaniels could be heavily coveted as 5-10 teams could be looking for head coaches on Black Monday, January 1, 2018.

The only other candidate who might make sense is Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Coordinator Mike Smith.

Smith Coached the Atlanta Falcons from 2008-2014 and was 66-46 with a .589 winning percentage. He led the Falcons to five playoff appearances and was 1-4 in the post-season.

Unfortunately for Smith, he was 10-22 during his final two campaigns which led to his dismissal.

Aside from that, as I've written about before and I'll say it again, the Lions best move pertaining to Caldwell is to keep him.

Since he was hired in 2014, Caldwell is 35-27 with a .564 winning percentage and two playoff appearances.

Detroit's issues go deeper than the coaching search.

The Lions need to start by bolstering their running back position, because the only stats which are missing are lack of 100 yard games, in addition to 1,000 yard seasons.

Against the Bears, The Lions amassed 91 yards on the ground as a group led by Theo Riddick's 49 and Tion Green's 35.

Unlike many teams in the NFL, the Lions are fortunate they don't need to look for a franchise QB.

They have a young gunslinger and stud in Stafford, 29, who is the ultimate competitor and plays through injuries.

Going into the Cincinnati contest, Stafford has 2,966 career completions and 34,223 yards. He has 212 touchdowns and 117 interceptions. He could hit the 3,000 milestone for completions against the Bengals.

Otherwise, he'll attain that milestone against the Packers.

Against Green Bay on December 31, 2017, Stafford will have played in all 16 games since 2011.

Who would have ever have thought that back on December 19, 2010 that Detroit snapped a 26-game road losing streak at Tampa Bay.

How times have changed as Detroit enters its road game with Cincinnati with a 5-2 road record and is 3-4 at home. It's safe to say that road win number six, will be huge!

This is What's Ahead For The Lions.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com and is a member of Detroit Sports Media.

Saints March To History

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

MIAMI GARDENS----Going into Super Bowl XLIV, this writer did predict that the New Orleans Saints would score 31 points. The problem is he also thought the Colts would win by a 38-31 margin.

Oh well, I'm not alone because there were many others who expected Colts quarterback Peyton Manning to walk away with his second Super Bowl Championship.

But destiny is the key word as to what transpired Sunday Night at Joe Robbie Stadium.

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 and despite the fact that there were two small market teams playing, that didn't matter as far as TV Ratings were concerned.
According to the Nielsen Ratings, this was the most watched program in US Television History as 106.5 million tuned in.

We had the hometown boy in Manning facing a city that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Is there any doubt that the Saints have become America's adopted team? As I spent time at the Media Center talking to radio show hosts along with other national media members from around the world at Radio Row, there were plenty of these people who were hoping that the Saints would come marching out of Miami with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

As it turns out they did. The celebration has shifted from South Beach to Bourbon St. But while this victory does bring joy to New Orleans, even when I was there two years ago, the devastation of the storm was still quite evident. That's what many of us in the media talked about at the various functions throughout the week especially throughout Sunday's game.

This was more than a football game, it was a human interest story in every way possible. That's what made it such a thrill to be a part of. There could be no better hype leading up to this game then listening to the players, coaches, media, commissioner, etc., talking about the significance about what a win would mean to New Orleans.

Despite being 13-3 and being the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Saints were still underdogs to the No. 1 seeded Colts who were 14-2.

Last year in Tampa, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the underdog Arizona Cardinals 27-23 but needed an eight play, 78-yard drive capped by a six yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes to earn the win. Pittsburgh also had a Super Bowl record 100-yard interception return from James Harrison at the end of the first half.

There were a lot of critical plays in this contest. But the only interception Manning threw resulted in a 74-yard touchdown return by Tracy Porter that gave New Orleans the 14 point lead. But Manning did throw for 333 yards while New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has folks in San Diego scratching their heads by letting him leave as a free agent as he threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns.

Nevertheless, this was history at its best and to be part of a crowd of 74,059 yards was a tremendous experience watching the Saints win their first ever Super Bowl Championship.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsportss3.com.

Historic Super Bowl In The Making

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Minnesota Vikings and QB Brett Favre finally erased some of their bad memories of the Dallas Cowboys by blasting them 34-3 in the Metrodome Sunday.

Here is what we have to look forward to in the next few weeks leading up to the Super Bowl on February 7, 2010.

The Vikings (13-4) travel to the Superdome and face the New Orleans Saints (14-3) in the first ever NFC Championship to ever be held in this historical venue. It's only fitting that we have a matchup featuring the top two seeds.

The 40-year old Favre returns to the building where he won his lone Vince Lombardi Trophy on January 26, 1997 with a 34-21 victory over the New England Patriots. Favre, who played his collegiate career at Southern Mississippi and was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, is 363-531, 4,202 yards for 33 TD's and just seven interceptions in 2009.

In Sunday's win over Dallas, Favre was 15-24, 234 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Favre's four touchdowns was the most in his post-season career and he earned his first playoff win over the Cowboys.

Including the post-season, Favre has played in 307 consecutive games. During his 19-year career as of week 17, 2009, Favre has thrown for 69,392 yards, 497 TD's, 317 interceptions, 9,811 attempts and 6,083 completions.

Here are some more interesting numbers.

Thirteen years ago when he won his Super Bowl in New Orleans, the cost of a 30 second commercial was $1.2 million. The Neilson Ratings were 43.3 and the market share was 65.

Pat Summerall and John Madden were the broadcasters for his historical win on Fox. Joe Buck and former Cowboys QB and Hall of Famer Troy Aikman will be televising this contest for FOX.

In Miami, the No. 13 jersey of Dan Marino is retired at Joe Robbie Stadium. Marino's 61, 361 yards in 16 seasons used to be the all-time NFL mark before Favre broke the Super Bowl Titleless performer's record.

My first Super Bowl was XXXIII in Miami on Jan 31, 1999. The Denver Broncos, who defeated Favre a year earlier to win their first championship, knocked off the Atlanta Falcons 34-19 as Hall of Fame QB John Elway retired a two-time champion. Now Favre, like Elway, has a chance to win his second title on Marino's old playground.

Going into Sunday's NFC Championship Game, Saints QB Drew Brees, at the age of 31, who played at the same university as Miami Dolphins legend Bob Griese, Purdue, has put together an excellent career of his own.

In 2009, Brees is 363-514, 4,388 yards, 34 TD's and 11 interceptions. During his nine-year career, he's 2,697-4,164, 202 TD's and 110 interceptions for 30,646 yards.

Brees turned down the opportunity to sign with the Miami Dolphins and play for Coach Nick Saban and chose to accept the challenge of playing for first time Head Coach Sean Payton in 2006.

In their first year together, they advanced to the NFC Championship but lost to the Chicago Bears 39-14 at Soldier Field as the Saints amassed four turnovers. On that Sunday, January 21, 2006 afternoon, the Saints had to deal with a cloudy, snowy day with the temperature 28 degrees. Despite the loss, the Saints would be greeted warmly by a grateful region that had appreciated their efforts on the field and in their ravaged community due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

The weather at the Superdome in Saturday's 45-14 rout of the Arizona Cardinals will be the same against the Vikings. Against the Cardinals, Brees was 23-32, 247 yards, three TD's and zero touchdowns as he out performed Arizona legend Kurt Warner.

Regardless of whether it's Favre or Brees, if the Indianapolis Colts (15-2) are able to defeat the surging New York Jets (11-7) Sunday, this could be a historic Super Bowl.

Manning won his first Super Bowl against the Chicago Bears on February 4, 2007 at Joe Robbie Stadium as history was made in the first game ever coached by African Americans featuring Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith.

Another African American is at the helm for the Colts as Jim Caldwell is under pressure to win this Super Bowl when he chose to not make a run at a 16-0 season as the Colts lost their final two games to the Jets and Buffalo Bills in an effort to rest their players, plus avoid injuries while getting others healthy.

Nonetheless, Manning, who is an 11-year veteran has compiled 50,128 yards as of week 17, 2009. He'll either face his hometown team New Orleans, whom his father Archie played for when the franchise was known as the Aints otherwise, it will be a match-up against another NFC North team in the Minnesota Vikings.

At the rate Manning is going, he should pass Marino's yardage mark in 2.5 seasons. But having won a Super Bowl in Marino's playground, now he has a chance to win a second one at Joe Robbie Stadium at the age of 33, the same Super Bowl as Elway's second. If Favre wins his second, it will come in a regular season where he threw for 33 touchdowns.

If Favre doesn't reach the Super Bowl and the Saints make it for the first time it will be a great story for the region which was battered by Hurricane Katrina but more importantly, the list of teams to have never reached the Super Bowl will be down to four.

How ironic will it be that as was the case in Super Bowl XXXIII, that an NFC South team could be making it's first trip to the Super Bowl in South Beach.

No matter what scenario plays out, history is destined to be made in South Florida. If an NFC team wins the Super Bowl, the Saints will either be 1-0 or the Vikings will be 1-4.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.