60-day list. The opening 25-man roster from zgr123's blog
Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers had first-and-goal at Carolina, poised to break open that September game in the third quarter. Joe Mixon Bengals Jersey .Roethlisberger looked left, cocked his arm and completed his entire throwing motion, luring a Panthers linebacker toward the anticipated trajectory. The ball never came out, but a crowd of defenders gathered in that part of the field.Big Ben then used another, quicker pump fake to draw the nickel cornerback further away from his favourite target Antonio Brown. Finally, Roethlisberger delivered the ball into the back right corner of the end zone behind the two defenders still close enough to get a hand in the way.Touchdown.The NFLs best quarterbacks have become better, post-modern offences are more complex and the rules against down-field contact have been made stricter. Many times, though, the success of a passing play comes down to a simple old standby tool thats been in the quarterbacks belt since the legalization of the forward pass.The pump fake.Its just as much Johnny Unitas as it is Andrew Luck.Youve just got to have great eyes. Dont look at the quarterback. Hes like Medusa. He turns you into stone, Minnesota cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said, using Greek mythology to explain how to avoid getting beat by it.Easier said than done.Youre taught to react. So every action is key, Denver cornerback Tony Carter said. If youre a half-second off, its enough.Examples of defensive players frozen by pump fakes in critical situations arent hard to find. Here are three from this season:— Dallas trailed the New York Giants with barely a minute left in November, and the Cowboys offensive line gave Tony Romo almost 9 seconds to throw a second-and-short pass. Romo wound up with a big fake that sucked a safety into the shallow part of the field, and Dez Bryant eluded two other defenders on a crossing pattern to grab the go-ahead touchdown.— The following week, Green Bay took a 10-point lead on New England late in the first quarter when Aaron Rodgers found Richard Rodgers a step ahead of the safety for a 32-yard scoring pass. How did the rookie tight end get open? Rodgers faked a throw to his right toward Jordy Nelson, prompting the other Patriots safety to head that way.— Just last Sunday, Roethlisberger added another clip to his personal fake-throw highlight film, albeit during a less-dramatic 4-yard pass against Atlanta. He pivoted right and found Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann right in front of him. One pump wasnt enough to get Biermann out of the way, so Roethlisberger raised his arm again as Biermann leapt high in hope of a bat-down.The ball didnt come out that time, either. Roethlisberger slung a sidearm throw to Brown, who manoeuvred for a nominal gain. The Steelers kept that drive going and drained the clock for a seven-point victory.Kroy made a great play, Roethlisberger said. Thats the only option: Get it out as fast as you can.Roethlisberger was being rather modest.We know the play is never dead with him, tight end Heath Miller said.Being 6-foot-5 sure helps.It helps when youve got hands like his, Steelers backup Bruce Gradkowski said. I could never do that. Id have the ball come out.Defences arent helpless, of course.Agile ends like Biermann, Houstons J.J. Watt or Denvers DeMarcus Ware are trained to disrupt even the shortest of throws when theyre not pursuing a sack against a deeper drop. Creating better passing lanes through the line and linebackers, then, is one reason to use the pump fake.The other is to clear a safety away down the field. Typically, a receiver on one side will run a predetermined double route — like a slant-and-go — while the guy on the back side of the formation gets free on, say, a move up the seam.Sometimes, well, its just improvisation.CBS and SiriusXM analyst Rich Gannon, a 17-year NFL veteran and the league MVP in 2002, used the skill well while running the West Coast offence with Oakland. Luck, who with Seattles Russell Wilson is one of the best young pump-fakers around, remembered watching Gannon do that while growing up.Gannon learned from TV, too, whether one of his peers like John Elway or Troy Aikman or Dan Marino.Sometimes I would pump knowing I had no inclination to even throw it that way, Gannon said. I knew where I was going to throw it. I just needed to move a linebacker so Id have a bigger window to throw the football behind him. So it just comes with experience. When youre a young guy, youre just trying to throw it to the open guy. When you get older, youre learning to manipulate the defenders.Even the best ones.Against an aggressive guy like me, a lot of quarterbacks try to pump fake me. Just trick plays, double moves, Seattle safety Earl Thomas said. Its not going to be anything regular because they understand your understanding of what theyre trying to do.___AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton in Englewood, Colorado, and AP Sports Writer Tim Booth in Renton, Washington, Will Graves in Pittsburgh and Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.___Online:AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL John Ross Youth Jersey . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. John Ross Womens Jersey . Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc Spears says that the Boogie Smooth album may have been an elaborate April Fools prank.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish was put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, the same day he threw a 32-pitch bullpen session without any issues. Darvish had been set to be the Rangers starter in Mondays opener against Philadelphia before having neck stiffness during camp. He last pitched in a game two weeks ago and didnt resume throwing until consecutive sessions this weekend. Texas also put left-hander Matt Harrison, last years opening-day starter, on the 15-day disabled list while setting its 25-man roster for the start of the season. Harrison, who made only two starts last season before twice having surgery on a herniated disk in his back, had a setback early in spring training, when he felt neck and back stiffness. He could return to the rotation before the end of April. Darvishs move to the disabled list was retroactive to March 21, meaning he could be eligible to return next weekend. Harrisons move was retroactive to March 29. Left-hander Derek Holland was already on the 60-day disabled list and not expected back until at least June after surgery on his left knee, injured during the off-season when he was tripped by his dog on stairs in his home. Texas said Darvish reported feeling strong after his bullpen session with pitching coach Mike Maddux on Sunday, a day after 30 throws off flat ground. Darvish, who last season led the majors with 277 strikeouts and finished second in the AL Cy Young Award voting, will get a day off from his throwing program before resuuming Tuesday. Carl Lawson Womens Jersey. Texas also selected the contract of infielder Josh Wilson from Triple-A Round Rock, and he could start at second base. Infielder Adam Rosales was designated for assignment, giving the Rangers 10 days to trade him, release him or send him outright him to the minor leagues. Second baseman Jurickson Profar (muscle tear in right shoulder) and catcher Geovany Soto (torn meniscus cartilage in right knee) are both expected to be out up to three months. Profar was put on the 15-day disabled list, and Soto on the 60-day list. The opening 25-man roster includes only four starting pitchers: Tanner Scheppers, Martin Perez, Robbie Ross and Joe Saunders, the left-hander signed after camp opened and who earned an increase in his base salary from $500,000 to $1.5 million by being on the active roster for one day. The Rangers dont need a fifth starter until the second week of the season, and will make a move then. Texas will start the season with seven relief pitchers and three catchers: J.P. Arencibia will start and be backed up by Robinson Chrinois and Chris Gimenez. The six outfielders include Mitch Moreland, who also is a first baseman and designated hitter. Wilson likely will split time at second base with Donnie Murphy, claimed off waivers last week from the Chicago Cubs. The only other listed infielders are first baseman Prince Fielder, shortstop Elvis Andrus and third baseman Adrian Beltre. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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