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Thursday Night in Atlanta

Margaret Bowles — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:10:28 +0000

We are here in the Georgia Dome for Thursday night football–Jacksonville Jaguars at the Atlanta Falcons. I was just out on the field pregame, watching a group of very young-looking guys throwing the ball around. I thought to myself; when did I get so old? It was Blaine Gabbert and a few others young enough to be my grandchildren. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I’m used to seeing Cam Newton, Josh Freeman, and other QB’s of the giant-sized ilk. Gabbert, with his long hair and lanky physique, looks like a college player. He has a good arm, but doesn’t have much experience around him–the proverbial blind leading the blind. He also has a new coach.

Jacksonvile Jaguar quarterback Blaine Gabbert warms up prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons December 15, 2011Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan warms up prior to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars December 13, 2011

This should be a fairly easy game for the Falcons, especially at home.

We will not discuss it

Margaret Bowles — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:24:18 +0000

Okay, there are a couple of topics that I just don’t want to talk about. #1 is Tim Tebow. He’s just another quarterback so just give it a rest. He’s neither fantastic nor terrible. He is NOT magic. He’s in the middle of the quarterback greatness pack and wouldn’t warrant anymore ink than, say, Josh Freeman, if it weren’t for the fervor of the religious right of football. It makes me want to turn off the television whenever the subject comes up. Can we say “overkill?” The #2 topic for non-discussion is the winning streak of the Packers. I know, they are awesome; but what is the point in speculating about whether they can or cannot go-all-the-way? Either they will or they will not. If they don’t, we will have wasted a great deal of time and discussion for not reason. If they do, then we can celebrate their greatness. Please, please just stop obsessing about it. There are other topics to discuss–like the Houston Texans’ unbelievably good year in the face of significant injury adversity. Why are we not obsessing about that? How about the magic of a couple of other rookie quarterbacks, like Cam Newton. Now there’s a guy who can do it all. There has been some talk about him, but nothing like the talk surrounding Tim Tebow. By the way, Cam Newton was kneeling in prayer at the base of the goal posts long before “Tebowing” became popular. Why aren’t we calling it “Camming?” Which begs another question: what would happen if the Broncos played the Panthers? Would Tebow’s prayers be given more weight than Cam’s? Can we speculate on that for awhile?

Panthers Win Convincingly

Margaret Bowles — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:47:03 +0000

The Carolina Panthers defeated the Washington Redskins 33-20 after a rough start for both teams. The Panthers seemed to calm down in the second half and put together several aerial attacks to take a commanding lead in the fourth quarter. John Beck, in his first start for the Redskins after taking over for the benched Rex Grossman, was respectable but fell short in the end after the team got behind and had to change their running game plan. Panther receiver Steve Smith had his best day of the year, as he and quarterback star Cam Newton clicked for the first time this season.

Ho Hum at Halftime

Margaret Bowles — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:50:12 +0000

The game has been pretty noneventful. The Panthers are killing themselves with penalties. The Redskins have turned the ball over twice. If it weren’t for the kickers, there would be no score. Here are a few photos from the first half.

On the Field at Bank of America Stadium

Margaret Bowles — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:58:05 +0000

Thanks again to the Carolina Panthers for supporting my efforts to bring a unique female perspective to NFL football. Ryan Anderson and Steve Drummond are the best! I’m here in beautiful Charlotte on a gorgeous fall day getting ready to shoot the Panthers and Redskins. It’s a great rivalry. When I was a kid, before the Panthers existed, EVERYBODY in the Carolinas were Redskins fans. My dad was a diehard fan, and one of my last memories of him was sitting next to his hospital bed watching the Redskins. There are plenty of Redskins fans still in the area, and coming into the stadium this morning, there were as many red jerseys as blue jerseys. It should be a great game. I have a gut feeling the Panthers will win this one. They are due to win. Every game they have lost has been less than 7 points. Stay tuned as I tweet from the field.

Pigskin Picks for Week 7

Margaret Bowles — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:52:04 +0000

Washington @ Carolina Carolina

Seattle @ Cleveland Cleveland

Atlanta@ Detroit Detroit

Denver @ Miami Denver

San Diego @ New York Jets NYJ

Chicago @ Tampa Bay Tampa

Houston @ Tennessee Tennessee

Pittsburg @ Arizona Arizona

Kansas City @ Oakland Oakland

St. Louis @ Dallas Dallas

Green Bay @ Minnesota Green Bay

Indianapolis @ New Orleans New Orleans

Baltimore @ Jacksonville Baltimore

Saints defeat Panthers

Margaret Bowles — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:32:06 +0000

In classic Drew Brees style, the Saints marched down the field late in the fourth quarter to pull ahead of the Panthers 30-27. The Panthers were left with a minute to try to win or even the score, but they couldn’t pull it off. The Saints’ offense made it look deceptively easy. On the other hand, the Panthers looked pretty good, too. Newton’s interception on the first play of the game put the Panthers in a catch-up mode for the entire game, which is not where you want to be when you play the Saints. The Panthers took the lead briefly in the fourth quarter and seemed in control, but on a 3rd down and four, the Panthers elected to throw deep, and had to relinquish the ball to the Saints. On the ensuing drive, the Saints scored and ate up the clock in the meantime. The call was a mistake; the Panthers should have just gotten the first down and controlled the ball. You have to keep the ball out of the Saints’ hands to win. The Panthers have yet to win; they keep getting close. The Saints are 4-1.

Highlights from the Saints-Panthers Game

Margaret Bowles — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:49:49 +0000

Well, it’s halftime and the Saints are pretty much racking up all the yardage they want to. The Panthers are clawing their way downfield to stay in the game. There is a lot of bad blood between these teams; there have been two fights so far. Here are a couple of photos: One is Saints cornerback Patrick Robinson scoring on the first play of the game and the second is DeAngelo Williams, scoring the Panthers’ second touchdown.

Last two Heismann Trophy Winners Face Off

Margaret Bowles — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:51:50 +0000

The Heismann Trophy winners for 2009 and 2010, Mark Ingram and Cam Newton, face off today in Charlotte, NC as the New Orleans Saints take on the Carolina Panthers. Both players have made significant impacts on their respective teams. Pigskin Lipstick caught the two winners in their pregame warm-up.

Inside Scoop on Drew Brees’s strategy at game time

Margaret Bowles — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:43:02 +0000

I’m sitting here in the television production meeting, listening in as the producer briefs the camera crew about what shots to take during the game. He’s telling the crew that Drew Brees has a plan for each game in determining where to throw. He picks out the defender on the opposing team who he believes has the “worst hands” and he picks on that guy throughout the game. So, when watching the Saints, keep an eye on where Brees throws–it’s probably in the direction of one guy. For the game against the Carolina Panthers today, Brees doesn’t seem to have a lot of respect for the defenders–except for Captain Munderlyn, who has improved significantly since last year. Brees says he does keep an eye on the Captain.