Meister der Farbe » on Griffen, the reigning NFC Defensive Player

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tommy Kahnle has been trying to tell anyone who will listen how good Colorados bullpen is, even if the numbers suggest otherwise. The Rockies middle reliever finally has some solid proof to back his claim. On a day the National Leagues top scoring offence was held to one run, the timing was perfect. Kahnle and four relievers combined for two-hit ball over six innings after Brett Anderson was injured, leading Colorado to a 1-0 victory over Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. "Its definitely special," said Kahnle after the Rockies bullpen lowered its collective ERA by nearly full point to 4.20. "Our bullpens real good, especially coming into that spot where our starter gets taken out by a freak injury. Really its just a big spot by us." Troy Tulowitzki drove in the games only run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning to help lift Colorado to just its second win in six road games this season. Its also just the Rockies third win in their last 17 games at San Franciscos waterfront ballpark. Kahnle (2-0) allowed one baserunner in two innings. Matt Belisle, Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers and LaTroy Hawkins pitched an inning apiece to complete the three-hitter with Hawkins finishing for his second save. "Usually if its a one-run game here were going the other way on it and probably lose," said Ottavino, who pitched a perfect seventh inning for Colorado. "Today was a good day. Everybody stepped up that needed to and we were able to hold them down and keep them quiet." Anderson left the game with a bruised left index finger after allowing a hit in three innings. He did not require X-rays and is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Sunday. Rockies relievers picked up the slack and extended their scoreless streak to 9 2-3 innings in this series. A day after pitcher Madison Bumgarner hit a grand slam and drove in five runs, the Giants managed only three hits and were shut out for the first time this season. "Their bullpen did a great job," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "We pitched good. They just pitched a little better." Cain (0-2) allowed four hits over seven innings with eight strikeouts and three walks. He is winless in his last seven starts at AT&T Park. Charlie Blackmon, the majors leading hitter going in, scored after leading off the third with a walk. Blackmon took second on Brandon Barnes infield single, moved to third as part of a double steal then came home on Tulowitzkis sacrifice fly. "At the time youre not thinking thats the run thats going to win the game, but it was a big one," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. Tulowitzki went hitless in three at-bats in his return to Colorados lineup after sitting out the series opener with a sore quad. Catcher Wilin Rosario was also back after resting a sore hand on Friday. Even at full strength, the Rockies needed a big lift from their bullpen to pull this one out. Anderson lasted just three innings after bruising the index finger on his left hand apparently while grounding out to end the top of the fourth. Anderson took the mound to begin the bottom of the frame and threw one warmup pitch before a team trainer was summoned from the dugout. "It felt like a firecracker went off in my glove," Anderson said. "I went out there and threw a warmup pitch and it felt like what I envision trying to throw with a foam finger feels like." Anderson eventually walked off the field and was replaced by Kahnle. Pablo Sandoval greeted the Rockies reliever with a double to the gap in left-centre on Kahnles first pitch after centre fielder Blackmon missed on a diving attempt. After Buster Posey walked, Kahnle got Mike Morse to ground into a double play and struck out Hector Sanchez. The Giants couldnt do much else, spoiling Cains strongest outing of the season. San Francisco loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth but Brothers struck out Sandoval on five pitches to end the inning. NOTES: Gonzalez went 0 for 4, ending his 10-game hitting streak. ... RHP Tyler Chatwood makes his season debut for the Rockies in the series finale on Sunday. RHP Tim Hudson (2-0) goes for San Francisco. ... Danielle Meulens, daughter of Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens, sang the national anthem. Saquon Barkley Giants Jersey . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. Harry Carson Womens Jersey .Y. -- It was as if Matt Moulson never left the New York Islanders. http://www.nygiantsfanaticshop.com/Black...cat=866.Airport spokeswoman Heather Lissner said that all departing flights were back on schedule. However, arriving flights were still trying to catch up.Super Bowl Sunday got off to an inconvenient start for hundreds of passengers trying to get to Phoenix for the game. Dexter Lawrence Womens Jersey . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans. Odell Beckham Jr Jersey . -- Chris Tillman paid no attention to the Baltimore bullpen as it started to stir in the ninth inning.(SportsNetwork.com) - Robert Griffin III is expected to be back under center on Sunday when the Washington Redskins take their modest two-game winning streak to Minnesota. First-year Redskins coach Jay Gruden confirmed RG3, who suffered a dislocated left ankle in Week 2 against Jacksonville and hasnt played since, will make his return if he shows he can handle the workload in practice. Griffin was a full practice participant on Wednesday for the first time since the injury and split first-team reps with Colt McCoy. Well see ... its all going to depend on how he does in (Thursday) and Friday, said Gruden. And moving forward, how I feel hes coming back. From a physical standpoint he looks good, now its a matter of mental and getting back into the football part of it. McCoys performance in Dallas on Monday night, in which he completed 25-of-30 passes for 299 yards to help the Redskins to an overtime upset of NFC East rival Cowboys, could also factor in the decision. With the Redskins having their bye after Sundays game, Griffin could receive an additional two weeks of recovery time before returning for a home matchup against Tampa Bay on Nov. 16. If he looks good in that (mental) regard, then theres a chance he could play. And if not and he needs another week, hell take another week, said Gruden. McCoy has held his own since replacing an ineffective Kirk Cousins for the second half of Washingtons Week 7 game against Tennessee. The former Cleveland Browns starter went 11-of-12 for 128 yards to rally the Redskins to a 19-17 win over the Titans, then played solidly in the Dallas game. The Vikings, meanwhile, are also coming off an overtime win, outlasting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Central Florida when rookie linebacker Anthony Barr, the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week, returned a fumble 27 yards for a touchdown in the extra frame to lift Minnesota to a 19-13 win. After his team blew a 10-0 lead in the fourth quarter, Vikings kicker Blair Walsh made a 38-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to tie the game at 13. On the first play of overtime, Barr stripped the football from Austin Seferian-Jenkins, scooped it up and raced 27 yards the other way for the game- winning score, only the fourth time an NFL game has ended that way in OT. Its really unfortunate because we were playing really hard and we were doing a great job, said Seferian-Jenkins. Its unfortunate I fumbled the ball. I have to have better ball security. Teddy Bridgewater completed 24-of-42 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings, who snapped a three-game skid. Jerick McKinnon carried the ball 16 times for 83 yards and Cordarrelle Patterson caught six passes for 86 yards. During the week, the practices, we were humming pretty good defensively, said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. I said: If we can continue to do these things, then we have a chance to be a good defensive football team. Were definitely not there yet, weve got a long way to go, but I think weve made pretty good strides since the beginning of the season. If Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis wasnt busy himself on Sunday, he would probably be at TCF Bank Stadium acting like a proud papa. Lewis coaching tree exploded before this season when both of his coordinators from his 2013 staff, Gruden and Zimmer, got head coaching jobs. With Gruden and Zimmer, the Bengals made three consecutive trips to the playoffs with the offense ranking 10th, 12th and 19th in points scored, and the defense measuring fourth, sixth and ninth. Its probably going to be overhyped a little bit on me knowing him and him knowing me, Gruden said. Hell, I dont know when hes going to call his blitzes and when hes going to call his zones. Zimmer said he remains good friends with Gruden and praised the offensive- minded coach for his own innovative skills. I honestly dont like going against my friends because I know at the end of the day one of us is going to be upset, Zimmer said. But it is what it is. Im sure hell have his team ready to play and hopefully Ill have my team ready to play.dddddddddddd The Vikings and Redskins have split their 18 previous meetings. WHAT TO WATCH FOR The shift from a read-and-react Tampa-2 base defense under former coach Leslie Frazier to the far more aggressive default setting of Zimmer has worked wonders for the defense in Minnesota. Zimmer has significantly upgraded a group which ranked 31st total defense in 2013 and dead last in scoring defense. Midway through the season the Vikings are eighth in total defense, allowing 323.8 yards per game, fourth in passing defense at 212.1 ypg and second in sacks with 25. Hes also cultivated stars at all three levels. Everson Griffen, the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the month, has turned into one of the games best pass rushers and is currently second in the conference with eight sacks. Griffen recorded an NFC-best six sacks in a four-game span during the month of October and also led all NFC defensive linemen with 20 total tackles in the month. Barr, fresh off his game-winning FF-FR-TD trifecta in Tampa, is an athletic marvel who will only improve with experience and Harrison Smith has been the best safety in the NFC during the first half. The problem is (Zimmer) he gives you so many looks, especially in the blitz, Gruden said. Hes the blitz doctor. So we just got to be on top of what we do and protect the quarterback. The lone issue for the Vikings has been late-game collapses, something that was a staple under Frazier and an issue Zimmer has yet to fix. Whomever plays QB for Washington will be piloting a team with significant weapons, featuring a solid receiving trio in Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson and Andre Roberts as well as a matchup problem at tight end in Jordan Reed. Running back Alfred Morris is also an issue for any opposing defense although he is far more effective when RG3 is in the lineup and the read-option is in play. (Gruden) has got terrific personnel there in Washington, Zimmer said. I think the tight ends are all good and obviously the receivers and running back. Im sure that he would tell you that his personnel is very good as well. The Vikings offense has struggled mightily thanks to injury and off-the-field issues. Minnesota planned to line up with QB Matt Cassel (broken foot), star running back Adrian Peterson (banishment), tight end Kyle Rudolph (sports hernia), right guard Brandon Fusco (turn pec) and wide receiver Jerome Simpson (released due to drug issue) playing significant roles. Instead they have had to rely on the rookie duo of Bridgewater and McKinnon, who both have significant talent but are going through the requisite growing pains behind a shoddy offensive line. Minnesota is currently ranked 29th overall in offense at 312.0 ypg and will be facing a Jim Haslett-led defense that likes to bring he blitz. The Redskins are tied for ninth in the NFL with 21 sacks and 14 of those have come with more than four rushers, Overall the Washington D blitzes nearly a third of the time on early downs and 50 percent on third down. I think Teddy has been improving each and every week, Zimmer said. A lot of teams are giving him a bunch a different looks, as I am sure the Redskins will as well. But he has got great composure, he has been great in the two-minute drill -- end of the game, end of the half situations. I think we are getting better at down situations for him. So it has been a work in progress the entire time. But I feel like we are starting to move in the correct direction now. OVERALL ANALYSIS Making the move away from McCoy with the bye week looming seems like a strange tact to take for the Redskins because we all know what happened the last time RG3 rushed back from an injury. The blitz doctor is well aware that Griffin will be rusty and you can bet he will be dialing up pressure from every which way while using the athletic Barr backing that up as an RG3 spy. Figure on the Vikings escaping with a close win. Sports Network predicted outcome: Vikings 20, Redskins 16 ' ' '