Tag: top player

Chargers’ Derwin James earns top spot in ‘Madden NFL 24’ safety ratings

Notorious Madden fan Derwin James earned the game’s top rating at the safety position ahead of the 2023 season

The Chargers secondary is chock-full of young talent, and the rating experts at EA Sports seem particularly bullish on safety Derwin James’ potential for the 2023 season, giving him the top overall grade at his position for the upcoming release of the “Madden” franchise.

“Madden” rates each player in the NFL on a 1-99 scale, with 99 representing the absolute best grade a player can earn for their in-game avatar. James graded out at a 95-overall, landing just shy of the coveted “99 Club” reserved for the league’s most preeminent stars.

Though the grades that go into his overall rating have yet to be released, Chargers fans can rest assured that James will be a force to be reckoned with when the game releases in August.

As the top-rated safety in the game, James can be expected to have cheat code-esque abilities when “Madden” fanatics utilize him as part of their secondary.

Georgia State 39, WKU 21: LendingTree Bowl 10 Things To Know

Georgia State 39, WKU 21. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Georgia State win over WKU in the LendingTree Bowl.

Georgia State 39, WKU 21. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Georgia State win over WKU in the LendingTree Bowl.

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Georgia State 39, WKU 21:Ā LendingTree Bowl

10. It doesnā€™t matter if itā€™s the LendingTree, the Dollar General, the GoDaddy or the GMAC – this has been a rough bowl watch for a long, long time. With this 18-point Georgia State win, that makes it five years in a row of games decided by double-digits. Some of these have been better than the final score, but ever since the classic Byron Leftwich Marshall 64-61 overtime win over East Carolina, 16 of 19 have been relative blowouts.

9. This got a bit chippy. There werenā€™t a ton of penalties – 15 in all – but these two started to get into it as the game went on. WKU got hit with the nine penalties – three more than Georgia State – and was more mistake-prone overall. More on that in a moment.

8. The Georgia State offense was a different animal this year when Destin Coates was able to get moving. The junior RB hit the 100-yard mark four times, and all when he got the ball 20 times or more. He ran 23 times for 117 yards and a touchdown. Is scoring dash at the end of the first quarter go it all going for the Panthers.

7. Georgia Stateā€™s Cornelious Brown should be one of the Sun Beltā€™s biggest stars in 2021. The QB had his problems with picks here and there – he threw one against WKU early on when he tried to make something big happen – and he didnā€™t get going on the ground with just 40 yards, but he threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns. He was in control, he kept the chains moving, and again, the big mistakes werenā€™t there.

6. Turnovers and mistakes continue to be a killer this bowl season – WKU was -2 in turnover margin. QB Tyrrell Pigrome completed 17-of-33 passes for 180 yards, and he ran for a score. There was one big problem, actually two – his two interceptions. Before this, he threw 264 passes in the regular season with no picks.

5. The WKU pass rush stepped it up late in the season, but it only generated one sack against the Panthers. However, there were plenty of big plays made behind the line – ten tackles for loss – and it wasnā€™t nearly enough. Third down stops were too much of an issue, and they were a big problem against this Panther offense.

4. Georgia State did a better job at controlling the game. It had the ball ten minutes longer, converted 13-of-21 third down tries, and the style never allowed the Hilltoppers to make much of a push after going on a 27-0 run in the first half.

3. Going into next year, WKU needs more of a running game. It averaged under four yards per carry for the season, and while it got the mark against Georgia State, it only came up with 104 yards. There were three touchdowns, and CJ Jones was able to tear off a big scoring dash, but there wasnā€™t enough of a push.

2. The lack of a consistent WKU offensive punch turned out to be a big deal once again, coming up with just 284 yards. Blowing up on FIU and Charlotte to close out the regular season was nice, but the programs needs a positive identity and style to move the ball more consistently. When the game was starting to get away, there wasnā€™t the ability to slow things down or answer. It was the sixth time the Hilltoppers gave up more than 21 points, and they lost all six.

1. Itā€™s a winning season for Georgia State. Donā€™t dismiss just how big a deal that is to a program, especially in this insane season. It was able to finish 6-4 with this win and close out with four wins in the last five games. The team was consistent, it was occasionally explosive, and now itā€™s a bowl winner two years in a row for the second time in four seasons.

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Georgia Southern 38, Louisiana Tech 3: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl 10 Things To Know

The 10 ten things you need to know about the Georgia Southern win over Louisiana Tech in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Georgia Southern 38, Louisiana Tech 3. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Georgia Southern win over Louisiana Tech in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

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Georgia Southern 38, Louisiana Tech 3:Ā R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

10.Ā The Louisiana Tech offense could never get going.Ā The Georgia Southern offense had something to do with that, a whole slew of mistakes had something to do with that, and this was over fast. Georgia Southern got up 7-0 just over five minutes in, and that was it.

9.Ā Skip Holtz finally lost a bowl game atĀ Louisiana Tech.Ā It’s a far cry from shutting out Miami 14-0 in last year’s Independence, but he got the program to its seventh bowl game in a row after winning the first six. This was a rebuilding year, and all things considered, 5-5 and this bowl trip wasn’t bad.

8.Ā Georgia Southern was totally dominant from the start.Ā Louisiana Tech couldn’t stop the option, it got behind too fast after too many mistakes, and it didn’t have the passing game to keep up. All year long it’s been a struggle for the Bulldogs, they needed to get out to a hot start, and they did anything but.

7.Ā StartingĀ quarterback LukeĀ Anthony couldn’t go for the Bulldogs,Ā Aaron Allen stepped in and gave it a try against one of the nation’s best teams at taking the ball away, and it was a disaster from there. Four interceptions – three on Allen – no takeaways – and no downfield passing game – nothing worked.

6.Ā Don’t put this on Louisiana Tech not showing up.Ā It had issues all year long with its consistency, it was coming off a 52-10 blasting against TCU, and it just couldn’t get anything going. The momentum carries Georgia Southern, but it all started because …

5.Ā Shai Werts was able to go.Ā The Georgia Southern quarterback was questionable at best with a shoulder injury. It seemed like the Eagles would be down to a third-string option, but Werts played, there didn’t appear to be a problem looking and playing like normal, and the offense rolled.

4.Ā The Eagle offense did exactly what it wasĀ supposed to.Ā It ran for 322 yards with its option attack, Werts hit on his deep throws when they were available, and it had the ball for way over 34 minutes. Louisiana Tech was never able to get into any sort of a groove because …

3.Ā Those turnovers were devastating.Ā It looked like Louisiana Tech was going to be able to move the ball a little bit early on. It came up with a few nice plays, it seemed like it would take just a little bit to warm up, and then … interception. Interception. And then another – including a key one in the red zone. Georgia Southern only scored seven points on the first three picks, but they were enough to stall the Bulldogs.

2.Ā The Georgia Southern defense generated pressure throughout the game.Ā It came up with three sacks, and more than that, it was able to get to knock around Austin Allen enough to limit him to 41 passing yards on a 10-of-24 passes with no touchdowns and three picks. Israel Tucker was able to run for 123 yards, but it wasn’t nearly enough to carry the offense.

1.Ā Shai Werts closed out his career as one of the most ultra-productiveĀ option quarterbacks ever.Ā During his time, he ran for 3,072 yards, 34 touchdowns, and unlike a slew of triple-option quarterbacks over the decades, he threw well, pitching 34 touchdown passes in his four seasons with just 12 interceptions.

So he wasn’t supposed to be healthy? 7-of-12, 126 yards, one touchdown, Ā and 71 rushing yards with three touchdowns, and with this, he won two bowl games in three tries.

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