Poke, Punch, Pull ... Fumble!

In the article "Poke, Punch, Pull ... Fumble" Judy Battista reports on the issue of the strip move used in football and how the New Orleans Saints have emphasized it into their defense.

Fumbles have been a big part of the Saints success. The Saints defense is taught to punch and poke at the ball whenever they get a chance. With this poke and punch mind set the Saints have managed to cause 15 strip fumbles and recovered 13 of them. Lawrence Taylor, a Giants Linebacker from back in the day says that the game today is more about stripping the ball instead of being fundamentally sound and secure the tackle.

In case you didn't know besides actually scoring, turnovers play the second biggest part in determining who will win the game. The team that wins the turnover battle is usually the winner. So in saying that, when it comes to going for the strip first then securing the tackle second I am all for it. But on the other hand if you go for the strip and you don't succeed it could mess up the tackle and the offensive player gets extra yards or ultimately a touchdown. So for the topic of stripping the ball first and then securing the tackle second I would have to say I am pretty much stuck in the middle haha.

This time, shockey not the invisible fan

In the article "This time, Shockey not the invisible fan" Gene Wojciechowshi reports on Jeremy Shockeys career.


Jeremy Shockey has had a very up and down career, and a very unsatisfying career. A few years ago he played for the New York Giants that ended up winning the superbowl that year. Unfortunatly for Shockey he was injured and on the side lines while his team played in the most important game of the year. Today Shockey has a second chance at a super bowl. Shockey was traded to the New Orleans Saints and now hes going to be playing the Colts in this years super bowl.


I agree with Gene on Shockeys career. In the NFL the point is to play in and win the super bowl. So therefore if you dont accomplish this but you still have good personal stats it really means close to nothing. On a more personal note for Shockey, he actually has a super bowl ring, but for him it doesnt mean anything because he was hurt and couldnt actuallty play for his ring. So I think for him to really be satisfied with his career he needs to win the superbowl this year vs. the Colts.