Around The NFL: Freeman To Vikings, Eli Manning Defends His Play, Broncos, Jags Have Twitter War
By Danny Cox
No one truly expected the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be competing for the starting job in Minnesota by Week Six. No-one expected Eli Manning to have to defend his play as the Giants start 0-5. Certainly, no-one thought the Jaguars and Broncos would be trading barbs on the Internet either.
Josh Freeman will sit on first Sunday, but will compete for Vikes' job
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said that they won't rush Josh Freeman into the role as leader of the team, but the former Buc will have a chance to compete for the starting spot once he's familiar with the team and playbook.
Freeman signed a one-year contract with the Vikings after being cut by the Buccaneers, and he now joins the squad with Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel. It isn't known who will start against the Carolina Panthers this week though.
Ponder is still dealing with some broken ribs, and it isn't known if he is healed up enough to play. Frazier said that Ponder is "still our starter" if he's healthy, but there certainly is going to be a quarterback competition now that Freeman has arrived in town.
With the New York Giants at 0-5, Eli Manning defends his play
This weekend's 36-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles dropped the Giants to 0-5, and a lot of the blame is falling on the shoulders of quarterback Eli Manning. Not only did Manning have three interceptions in the game, but they all came in the fourth quarter and he also had three intentional-grounding penalties.
New York coach Tom Coughlin called all of those things "demoralizing." Manning went on New York radio on Monday to defend himself.
"I don't think I'm playing lousy," Manning said in his weekly radio appearance on WFAN radio. "I think I'm seeing the defenses well. I think I'm throwing the ball accurately. So I feel like I'm in sync, my fundamentals are good, everything's kind of in place. It's just a matter of getting in some bad predicaments and not catching many breaks and just getting in some tough spots."
Manning currently leads the NFL with 12 interceptions and has watched his completion percentage drop each week from 64.3 down to 46.2 on Sunday.
Scoring explosion by Broncos causes Twitter war with Jaguars
On Sunday, the Denver Broncos only won by three points over the Dallas Cowboys, but they still racked up 51 points. That outpouring had the official Twitter of the Broncos post on Monday morning:
Jacksonville is Denver's next opponent and the two teams have completely opposite records of 0-5 and 5-0. Denver is also favored by a record-tying 28 points in the game, but that doesn't mean the Jaguars were just going to sit back and allow that to be said about them.
Jacksonville's official Twitter simply shot back with:
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Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. Danny is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
