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3 - but there is another layer of uncertainty du

in Introduce Yourself As A Pony! Mon Mar 11, 2019 10:31 am
by corse178 • 1.660 Posts

Ten years ago -- on Sept. 25, 2006 -- the Louisiana Superdome was the scene of an iconic moment in NFL history.A year earlier, Hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury on one of Americas great cities, peeling back the roof of the Superdome, which transformed a shelter of last resort into a palace of pain for thousands of residents who could not flee New Orleans before the storm overpowered poorly designed levees and inundated 200,000 homes.When the New Orleans Saints returned to the refurbished Superdome for Week 3 of the 2006 NFL season, the stadiums dazzling rebirth and the Saints 23-3 destruction of the Atlanta Falcons -- fueled by New Orleans special teamer Steve Gleasons blocked punt for a touchdown in the opening minutes -- became a metaphor for the citys revival.The stakes are not nearly as high for the Saints this time, but at 0-2, with losses to the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants coming by a combined total of four points, they could use some serious Superdome mojo against the 1-1 Falcons.Saints coach Sean Payton, who was on the sidelines for Gleasons blocked point, which nearly blew the roof off the Superdome again, is trying to direct his thoughts to a team desperately in need of a win.Its the Atlanta Falcons, its a division opponent and its our first division game and we have not won, Payton said. It is Monday Night Football, and thats the easy motivation in regards to the significance or importance to the game. A lot of these guys were not around, and, shoot, they may not have been playing football when that happened. Its more about finding a way to get our first win.The Saints have three players on their current roster who participated in the 2006 rebirth game -- quarterback Drew Brees, guard Jahri Evans and tackle Zach Strief. The Falcons have only one -- defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux.But Atlanta coach Dan Quinn realizes the Saints are desperate for a victory and will feed off the home crowd.They could just as easily be 2-0, Quinn said. We know this a good team. In addition, its a division game for us. We cant wait to get down there.While the Falcons lead the overall series 48-45, Payton has owned Atlanta since taking over in 2006, winning 15 of 20.The Saints struggled offensively last week in a 16-13 loss to the Giants. Their defense forced three turnovers against New York, but the critical play of the game turned out to be a blocked field goal that the Giants turned into a touchdown for a 10-point turnaround.Payton was disappointed in his offenses lack of balance. Even though the game was close throughout, Brees threw 46 passes while the Saints ran the ball just 13 times for 3.2 yards a carry.I feel like the offensive line has been doing a great job in the run game, said running back Mark Ingram. We just have to call them and execute them, give the coaches confidence where we can go out there and be effective in the run game.The Falcons are tied for 25th in run defense and have allowed their first two opponents to rush for 4.6 yards a carry.While the Saints seek to get their running game back on track, they realize Brees is their bread and butter.Obviously, you want to get after it in the run game, but when you have a dynamic quarterback like Drew who can just pick people off, then you got to play to your strengths, Evans said. And hes definitely a strength.The Falcons also have a high-octane offense. Quarterback Matt Ryan has thrown for more than 300 yards in each of his first two games -- a 31-24 Week 1 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a 35-28 road victory against the Raiders. Ryan leads the NFL in yards per pass attempt (10.0) and passer rating (121.4). He has five touchdowns passes and just one interception.The Saints will have the crowd buzzing. Gleason, who is battling ALS, will be on hand for the game to whip the Superdome crowd into a frenzy.Its probably going to be their Super Bowl, said Atlanta safety Kemal Ishmael. I know its going to be something special for them, and theyre going to get after us. DeAnthony Melton Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Cheap Rockets Jerseys China . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. http://www.cheaprocketsjerseys.com/ . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Cheap NBA Jerseys . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Cheap Swingman Rockets Jerseys . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. Mark Wood is not a Geordie sure of his place in the England fast-bowling pecking order - but he is glad to be back. Figures of 1 for 57 on his first ODI appearance in almost a year were not as arresting as the fact that his fastest delivery was clocked at 92.7mph, during a hostile opening spell in which he helped put Pakistan on the back foot in the first match of the series in Southampton.Following two operations on his left ankle, and ten months out of the England side, Wood has hurtled back into contention following a series of vibrant displays. A couple of his one-day squad-mates can attest to that, after a searing contribution to Durhams NatWest Blast semi-final win over Yorkshire on Saturday, in which he gave Joe Root a torrid working-over - five balls, several hurried prods, one run - and yorked Jonny Bairstow on the way to career-best T20 figures of 4 for 25.Root, whose 61 helped England to a comfortable DLS victory on Wednesday, could barely lay a bat on Wood in their Finals Day encounter - a problem he has solved by giving it away to his tormentor. For Wood, it has been an immensely satisfying comeback after missing most of the winter and half of the English season recovering from his injured ankle.I had more than a little bit of frustration over the last few months, Wood said. To come back with Durham so strongly is amazing. The coach there, Jon Lewis, and the way that the whole England medical team have looked after me, they deserve huge credit. Jon Lewis basically said to not worry about going for runs and to concentrate on taking wickets and that confidence and getting a few wickets and playing the role that I did at Durham gave me the confidence to come back to the England set-up fresh.That was my best Twenty20 bowling performance for sure. I havent seen the paces but a couple of the Yorkshire lads said I bowled well and getting that recognition from international players is always nice. One of them in particular is a pretty good batsman so I was very happy that he was saying it was tough and I even just swapped a bat with him now so that must be some sort of recognition. I think its because I bowled so well at him, Joe obviously wasnt so fond of that one so hes given it to me.The surgery has allowed Wood to play without discomfort in his ankle when bowling and he believes that will enable him to maintain his pace from spell to spell, in particular over back-to-back matches, an area where there were previously concerns about his durability.I would say Im consistently quicker, he said. I wouldnt say quicker at my top speed, but I have not got the pain in the back of my ankle, which was causing me huge problems. People were saying I could not play back-to-back games, but it wasnt that I couldnt play back-to-back, [it was that] I couldnt bowl at 90mph every day and Im a totally different bowler bowling 90mph to when I am bowling 80mph. I need that pace and with no pain in the back of my ankle, I find that a lot easier on my body and that allows me to do that. Consistently it is a lot better for me.While Wood at top speed ranks among the quickest bowlers cuurrently playing the game, he is less concerned than some about raw pace - the analyst gets quite worked up when I come in and he says youre bowling at 92 - and recognises he is more likely to be judged for England on wickets and economy.dddddddddddd As Woods first over, in which Sharjeel Khan picked up two boundaries, demonstrated, extra velocity can sometimes cut both ways. I think the third ball, off Sharjeels bat, went about 98mph, so he was winning that one. Not that Wood will be looking to dial it down in pursuit of something more metronomically reliable. Having returned midway through the season, he has dived headlong into competitive action and believes he could still bowl quicker yet.I reckon I could, yeah. When you get that rhythm and match fitness back, he said. Ive been rushed back through to get some game-time having missed the first half of the summer, and Ive been desperate to play so Ive not really had that time where Ive been getting used to bowling and bowling again. Ive only played two Championship games, and in one of those I only bowled 14 overs. So if I get that match fitness back up, hopefully I can bowl even quicker.Wood formed part of a three-man pace attack at the Ageas Bowl, alongside Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett. With David Willey hopeful of returning to action after the hand injury he sustained on Finals Day, Chris Jordan and Jake Ball also in the squad, Steven Finn recuperating from a hamstring tear and James Anderson and Stuart Broad filling out the options for the Test side, England look like having a considerable seam battery to call upon.For now, Wood is focused on proving himself worthy of a place - England have still to see the best of him in ODIs, with six wickets from eight appearances at an average of 66.83 - but there is another layer of uncertainty due to his contractual situation at Durham. Should his central contract not be renewed by the ECB, there are doubts about whether Durham could afford to retain him, but reigniting his international career remains the quickest (in every sense) route to a resolution.Its complicated off the field at Durham, everyone knows there are issues there, Wood said. My situation is to focus solely on getting back in the England team first. I love the north-east, Im a north-east lad.Am I confident of a central contract? I wouldnt say so, but I know that part of the reason that we give out central contracts is to look after fast bowlers and things like that. If I was to fall into that category that would be brilliant. Getting looked after by such a superb medical team that I talked about before, theyve been superb with us. Theyve looked after me tremendously well, to be honest.So I wouldnt say Im confident because Ive not played for England for a long time, and throughout this year I probably havent deserved to get another one, so well just have to wait and see. But in terms of Durham, Im focusing on England at the moment and Ill see what happens there come September. ' ' '

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