Just like last week, here are 20 football impressions from this weekend and going forward:
20. As proven by the Bills benching EJ Manuel and going and getting Kyle Orton, Manuel is not the answer to Buffalo's problems...and by the way, Kyle Orton is not the answer either. Orton is a journeyman throughout his career and always will be.
Oh and Texans fans, don't be fooled by that win Sunday, Fitzpatrick still sucks. If he's the answer at QB then I don't want to know what the question is.
19. Good Lord the Raiders are bad. The Dolphins aren't all that good and the Raiders still blew them out. Do the Raiders even pretend to try anymore?
18. Steve Smith Sr. torches the Panthers after they cut him and the Ravens send the Panthers limping back home. You know what they say about revenge...a dish best served cold.
17. Bridgewater played a good game on Sunday and Minnesota beat Atlanta, but let's see how he does when he plays a few games and teams get film on him.
16. Speaking of Atlanta...and New Orleans...can EITHER of these teams win outside their domed stadiums? Sure doesn't seem like it.
15. People mouthing off about Aaron Rodgers not having it anymore and the Packers maybe not being the same team that they have been...what does 38-17 over Cutler and a trendy Bears team tell you?
14. Nebraska readers, please cut the crap about how the four letter network hates Nebraska just because they aren't going to MSU for GameDay (they are going to Bama/Ole Miss even though I might have picked LSU/Auburn for the GD spot also). That's a load of bollocks. I like Mike Welch and was listening to Drop the Mike on 93.7 The Ticket out of Lincoln this afternoon...enough with the BS about how ESPN hates Nebraska, Mike. What exactly has Nebraska proven over the first five games to say they are worthy of a GameDay spot?
I will never understand the dislike Nebraska fans have for Herbstreit either. That's still alive and well Sure, he miffed Nebraska fans during that best team ever show years ago to get a reaction. So what? It's been seven years, get over it already. It's not like Nebraska has given him anything positive to talk about.
13. That said, Ed Cunningham is one of the worst football analysts on television. Straight up. This guy said that Minnesota is a favorite to win the Big 10 West on Saturday. That makes me heartily chuckle.
12. Michigan's firing of Brady Hoke I am sure cannot come soon enough for most Michigan fans. I know a couple of Detroit connections and Michigan fans have about had it with him. He gets Michigan better than Rich Rod did, but that said he isn't doing anything with his recruits even though he gets them to Ann Arbor.
11. Pittsburgh is the most schizo team in the National Football League. Beat Cleveland, play terrible against Baltimore. Beat Carolina, then somehow lose to Tampa Bay with Mike Glennon at the controls.
10. A big surprise for the Huskers to me has been the re-emergence of an offensive line that is actually blocking for our running game. Ameer is putting up the huge numbers, but his o-line is doing a lot of the work. They will, however, face a much stiffer test against the Spartans on Saturday. Chances are if Nebraska is even or better in turnover margin they have a good chance to win...only lost three times in the Pelini era in that scenario (Texas 2009 CCG, Northwestern 2011, UCLA 2013).
9. I think for the first time possibly ever, Father Time might be catching up on Brees. That's a team he normally owns, the Cowboys, but he did absolutely nothing except for a five minute stretch in the early part of the fourth quarter.
8. San Francisco 26, Philadelphia 21, but Philly really got dominated for much of that game. They didn't even score an offensive touchdown, gave up 407 total yards and didn't have a single play in the Niners end of the field for much of that game. The Niners began to maybe show flashes of the team they still could be.
7. FSU beat NC State coming from behind, but I'm not all that impressed with them quite yet. This does not look like the same Florida State team as last season. They can be had by somebody before the season ends (Notre Dame possibly in a couple weeks).
6. Arkansas should never have lost that game against A&M. Somehow, Arkansas secondary lets not one but TWO huge plays in the fourth quarter get behind them. That should be the first rule defensively in playing with a lead...NO big plays over the top.
This begins a brutal stretch for A&M...that game begins a stretch of four straight games vs SEC West opponents (at Mississippi State this week, Ole Miss at home the week after and then at Bama).
5. Ole Miss is by far the most overrated team in the top 10...in the top 20 for that matter. A prime example of why polls until the middle of October are beyond stupid. They only were ahead of Memphis 7-3 entering the fourth quarter and 10-3 with 9:34 left. For that matter, they only pulled away from BSU late and BSU isn't very good either. I'm not completely sold on Nebraska's team quite yet, but I know this; I'd take us to beat Ole Miss.
4. Texas beat an awful Kansas team 23-0, has Baylor this week and suddenly John Harris of UT has the nerve to pop off about Baylor who has beat them three of the last four years. Check out this quote, "I mean, they're still Baylor." He then went on to say, we are who we are, we're still Texas, yada yada yada.
Normally I let Longhorn attitude and arrogance roll off my back and it's not even newsworthy to me simply because that's who they are, and they'll never ever change but this makes me laugh. Sure, John...you're still Texas, they're still Baylor, and you've lost three of the last four years to Baylor. In my world, you win on the field before you run your mouth. Considering that Charlie Strong enforces discipline whenever someone doesn't play by his rules, I'm sure he is not amused.
3. Speaking of Kansas, Charlie Weis gets canned. Talk about a revolving door. Turner Gill lasted just two years there (absolute disaster), and now Weis doesn't even make it through season three (disaster #2).
2. Last week, I sort of laughed at how Jerry Jones was popping off about the Cowboys good start. This is no laughing matter now because they absolutely mugged the Saints from the word go last night. I think for those who watched that game last night, what they found is what I've said last week, Dallas has its best offensive line in years. That's what happens when you have three offensive linemen starting who were drafted in the first round.
Now what happens is that Tony Romo has much less of a chance of getting creamed on every play, DeMarco Murray has much less of a chance of getting hurt either and their offense is rolling. Are they really a Super Bowl contender...probably not, but they are definitely overachieving.
1. Logic would say Brady wins tonight, but going back to that whole offensive line thing, his offensive line is terrible. That's not a good recipe in such a hostile environs like Arrowhead, you have to be a cohesive offensive line to be able to function in that building where you can't hear anything. In addition, the Chiefs have Tamba Hali and Dontari Poe who can relentlessly pressure Brady and force him into mistakes. The Chiefs also get a boost tonight because Jamaal Charles is apparently probable. I say Kansas City wins tonight.
Until next time....
Monday, September 29, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
10 Things I Want to See This Weekend in Sports
With the weekend ahead of us, good time for me to list 10 things I want to see this weekend with the Ryder Cup in full swing, baseball races going right down to the end and football heating up.
10. More of Jordan Spieth at the Ryder Cup, please, Tom Watson. This kid is a stud already at his young age and while I am not the biggest golf expert, to me it was a mistake by U.S. Captain Watson to sit him out in the afternoon session...predictably the red white and blue only got half a point in the afternoon session.
Oh and even worse was having Phil and Keegan out there and Spieth sitting out...and while I respect what Phil has done, he and Keegan got smacked by Dubuisson and Graeme. We're going to need all the help we can to beat the Europeans so the guys who give us the best chance to win need to play.
9. Texas Tech football to stop committing silly penalties. What did they have, like five million penalties in that game last night? I'm a huge fan of Kliff, but they showed why they lead the Big 12 in penalties.
8. The Astros to win at least two more games at Citi Field this weekend. They've already avoided 100 losses, but I'd like to see them finish strong with two wins against the Mets.
7. For Seattle to grab the last AL Wild Card spot and the A's to miss entirely. Simply because the A's eschewed their moneyball strategy and tried to be something they are not to go after a championship. You can't be something you're not.
6. For Drew Brees to shut Jerry Jones' obnoxious mouth. The Cowboys are 2-1 and he is already popping off two days before New Orleans comes to town. Want proof? I've got your proof right here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/jerry-jones-on-dallas-cowboys--2-1-start--don-t-discount-us-200525418.html
Hey Jerry, you may not be so cocky after Brees goes for 500 and the Saints win. Then again, as long as the Cowboys get headlines and we're all talking about you, I guess you still win so congrats on that.
5. For Nebraska's defense to have a solid game in their final test before going to Michigan State next weekend. I'd like to see some more turnovers forced, some pressures on the quarterback and if possible hold Illinois to less than 20.
4. For the real San Francisco 49ers to please stand up and decide whether you're still a contender or not. They are 1-2 but have talent out the wazoo...and they better start playing like it because Chip Kelly and the boys are going in there feeling real good about themselves. The Niners do not want to start 1-3. Might as well say the same thing about Green Bay. Big games for both teams.
3. The Arkansas/Texas A&M football game. Like I said earlier this week, I'm intrigued by who controls the tempo in this game...the Hogs ground attack or the Aggies run and gun, NASCAR paced offense. And can anyone keep the other guy under 30 points in this game by chance?
2. For Jameis Winston to take Ameer Abdullah's advice. If you haven't seen it, read this: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11570167/ameer-abdullah-nebraska-cornhuskers-says-jameis-winston-florida-state-seminoles-grow-up
I agree with every word said and the best part about it is that Ameer didn't pop off. It seemed like friend to friend advice as Ameer and Jameis both know each other from their Birmingham days. Right now, it seems to me that Jameis is a young man that feels he can get away with everything, so I can only hope as a fan of the sport that he takes Ameer's advice.
1. For the Kansas City Royals to end 29 years of playoff-less frustration. If you're an Astros fan, or any other fan, reading this you are probably asking yourself why am I putting this at #1 instead of football? And why no mention of Jeter?
First of all, Jeter had a great moment. Walking off in your final game with a base hit is an amazing way to go out. But the Kansas City Royals chasing a playoff spot deserves, in my view, just as much respect. And I love football, but this could be history in the making.
Try and walk a day in a Kansas City fan's shoes. Think about an entire region that once saw good baseball (yes, it is hard to imagine but the Kansas City Royals have had championship caliber teams. Many reading this are probably too young to have seen them at their peak but they did have good teams) that is starved for anything to cheer about. And this is a region that has seen some horrendous baseball over this current drought.
This is a franchise that, for now, currently holds the longest playoff-less drought of anyone in the four major North American sports and it isn't even close. The next closest team is the Toronto Blue Jays who haven't been to the playoffs in 20 years (also the last time they won a World Series).
It's a franchise whose fans saw the team trade Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon (two of which won World Series later). It's a team that, in the 2000s, had four 100 loss seasons in five years. It's a team that lost 19 games in a row one season. They've even had a guy drop a pop fly to lose a game during one of those seasons.
Even during these good times, they have Ned Yost running the show. A guy who got fired during the Brewers pennant race in 2008....also, a guy who doesn't use his pitching staff that well and a guy who could quite frankly manage the Royals out of a critical win down the road.
Yet, the impossible dream may come true tonight. With a win over the White Sox at any time this weekend, Kansas City will see at least one game of playoff baseball next week, against either the A's or Seattle with a chance to go to Anaheim for the divisional round. That is something I would definitely like to see.
Until next time....
10. More of Jordan Spieth at the Ryder Cup, please, Tom Watson. This kid is a stud already at his young age and while I am not the biggest golf expert, to me it was a mistake by U.S. Captain Watson to sit him out in the afternoon session...predictably the red white and blue only got half a point in the afternoon session.
Oh and even worse was having Phil and Keegan out there and Spieth sitting out...and while I respect what Phil has done, he and Keegan got smacked by Dubuisson and Graeme. We're going to need all the help we can to beat the Europeans so the guys who give us the best chance to win need to play.
9. Texas Tech football to stop committing silly penalties. What did they have, like five million penalties in that game last night? I'm a huge fan of Kliff, but they showed why they lead the Big 12 in penalties.
8. The Astros to win at least two more games at Citi Field this weekend. They've already avoided 100 losses, but I'd like to see them finish strong with two wins against the Mets.
7. For Seattle to grab the last AL Wild Card spot and the A's to miss entirely. Simply because the A's eschewed their moneyball strategy and tried to be something they are not to go after a championship. You can't be something you're not.
6. For Drew Brees to shut Jerry Jones' obnoxious mouth. The Cowboys are 2-1 and he is already popping off two days before New Orleans comes to town. Want proof? I've got your proof right here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/jerry-jones-on-dallas-cowboys--2-1-start--don-t-discount-us-200525418.html
Hey Jerry, you may not be so cocky after Brees goes for 500 and the Saints win. Then again, as long as the Cowboys get headlines and we're all talking about you, I guess you still win so congrats on that.
5. For Nebraska's defense to have a solid game in their final test before going to Michigan State next weekend. I'd like to see some more turnovers forced, some pressures on the quarterback and if possible hold Illinois to less than 20.
4. For the real San Francisco 49ers to please stand up and decide whether you're still a contender or not. They are 1-2 but have talent out the wazoo...and they better start playing like it because Chip Kelly and the boys are going in there feeling real good about themselves. The Niners do not want to start 1-3. Might as well say the same thing about Green Bay. Big games for both teams.
3. The Arkansas/Texas A&M football game. Like I said earlier this week, I'm intrigued by who controls the tempo in this game...the Hogs ground attack or the Aggies run and gun, NASCAR paced offense. And can anyone keep the other guy under 30 points in this game by chance?
2. For Jameis Winston to take Ameer Abdullah's advice. If you haven't seen it, read this: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11570167/ameer-abdullah-nebraska-cornhuskers-says-jameis-winston-florida-state-seminoles-grow-up
I agree with every word said and the best part about it is that Ameer didn't pop off. It seemed like friend to friend advice as Ameer and Jameis both know each other from their Birmingham days. Right now, it seems to me that Jameis is a young man that feels he can get away with everything, so I can only hope as a fan of the sport that he takes Ameer's advice.
1. For the Kansas City Royals to end 29 years of playoff-less frustration. If you're an Astros fan, or any other fan, reading this you are probably asking yourself why am I putting this at #1 instead of football? And why no mention of Jeter?
First of all, Jeter had a great moment. Walking off in your final game with a base hit is an amazing way to go out. But the Kansas City Royals chasing a playoff spot deserves, in my view, just as much respect. And I love football, but this could be history in the making.
Try and walk a day in a Kansas City fan's shoes. Think about an entire region that once saw good baseball (yes, it is hard to imagine but the Kansas City Royals have had championship caliber teams. Many reading this are probably too young to have seen them at their peak but they did have good teams) that is starved for anything to cheer about. And this is a region that has seen some horrendous baseball over this current drought.
This is a franchise that, for now, currently holds the longest playoff-less drought of anyone in the four major North American sports and it isn't even close. The next closest team is the Toronto Blue Jays who haven't been to the playoffs in 20 years (also the last time they won a World Series).
It's a franchise whose fans saw the team trade Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon (two of which won World Series later). It's a team that, in the 2000s, had four 100 loss seasons in five years. It's a team that lost 19 games in a row one season. They've even had a guy drop a pop fly to lose a game during one of those seasons.
Even during these good times, they have Ned Yost running the show. A guy who got fired during the Brewers pennant race in 2008....also, a guy who doesn't use his pitching staff that well and a guy who could quite frankly manage the Royals out of a critical win down the road.
Yet, the impossible dream may come true tonight. With a win over the White Sox at any time this weekend, Kansas City will see at least one game of playoff baseball next week, against either the A's or Seattle with a chance to go to Anaheim for the divisional round. That is something I would definitely like to see.
Until next time....
Monday, September 22, 2014
Four Weeks of Football: Where We're At
Man, it's been some time since I updated this bad boy. But we are now in football season, four weeks in as a matter of fact, so I think it's a good time to reset what's been going on. 20 points for all you football fans to ponder on after four weeks...and keep in mind I'm going to stick mainly to what's going on on the field.
The one thing I will say about the off-field stuff is that the NFL and college football for the most part are fortunate that the leagues and the games sell themselves otherwise there would be an even bigger problem. That said...away we go.
20. Never count out a Steeler football team, ever. People left them for dead after that awful performance against Baltimore but Steeler pride more often than not shines through. They proved that on Sunday night by demolishing a pretty solid Carolina Panther football team.
19. Saints got their first win of the year against a hapless Minnesota squad without Peterson. If there is ever a team that could come from 0-2 to make the playoffs, it's a team led by Drew Brees. Watch for more huge numbers for Drew against Dallas, which he does routinely.
18. The Redskins offense is a different offense when Kirk Cousins is in the game. It's too bad because I really liked RGIII coming out of college, but it's obvious Wash is a better football team with Cousins manning the snaps. They're not great still, but better with Cousins behind center.
17. The Cowboys offensive line is the best offensive line they've had in quite some time. On my way to doing something on Friday morning, I was listening to Mike and Mike and I think they said the Cowboys had three first round offensive line picks in their rotation. That is helping their offense be what it is right now. They can't stop anyone but they can score a lot of points.
16. Buffalo comes back to Earth. Unlike Chicago (sorry, they have Cutler and he'll never sniff that trophy) and Miami, San Diego is a legitimate Super Bowl contender and they smacked around Buffalo pretty good.
15. The Patriots are 2-1 but it's obvious Brady isn't what he used to be. They just barely scratched by Oakland and now they have to go to Kansas City on a Monday night, then play a really good Cincinnati squad six days later. Tough stretch.
14. Speaking of Kansas City, big win at Miami (where they rarely win in the first place) to keep them from 0-3. They play New England at home next Monday, then go to the Niners and San Diego. If they can somehow get to 3-3 after those first six, they have some winnable games after that.
13. Hoke has got to go at Michigan. Did anyone see how empty that stadium was in the fourth quarter with Michigan down 26-10?
12. Auburn beat K-State by six, but barely squeezed by. A win is a win, but K-State is going to be kicking themselves for the rest of the season after losing that one the way they did. Oh and as someone from a Nebraska family I don't want to hear that the flyover states can't compete with the great and mighty SEC. That is complete bollocks.
In the last year, Missouri won the SEC East (yes you read that right), Oklahoma beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and Tennessee about a week ago, Nebraska beat Georgia in its bowl game and K-State took Auburn (for the record, my national title pick) to the wire.
11. Alabama gets 645 yards on Florida. Yaaaaaaaay. Florida is a lame squad this year and Muschamp will likely be gone following the season so excuse me if I'm not impressed yet...Bama hasn't even played a ranked team yet. A&M, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn have all beat at least one ranked team and three of those four teams won true road games. The best team Bama played was West Virginia who isn't ranked and only lost to them by 10...and Oklahoma by the way scored more points against WVU (on the road too) than Bama did.
10. Ryan Fitzpatrick is still not a very good NFL quarterback and for those Texans fans who say that he's anything more than decent...well, you can have your opinion and I'll disagree with it. They're going to be better than they look this year, but no playoffs.
9. If anyone has a panic button in San Francisco, now might be a really good time to hit it. That Ferrari they are running around with is 1-2 and got lapped in the second half each of the last two weeks. By the way, the Niners are getting outscored by a cumulative 52-3 in the second half of their games this year. Oh, and Arizona's for real. That's a physical, nasty, vicious football team.
8. I guess you can try and clean up a program as much as you can, but you can never really take the chippiness out of the Miami Hurricanes. Nice win for the Huskers, game that looked a little bit like old-school power football. Oh and that roughing the passer call on Nebraska was horrendous in that game. I know about the new roughing the passer rules in college, but if you watched the play the Miami player blocked our guy into the quarterback and the hit wasn't even below the knees.
7. Cal was up 31-13 at Arizona starting the fourth quarter but somehow manages to lose 49-45 on the last play of the game on a Hail Mary. How in the world does that happen?
6. Ravens kicked a game winning field goal to squeak by the Browns, but I like where the Browns are headed. They beat a New Orleans team that's pretty good and have been competitive in all of their first three games.
5. Sad weekend for LSU fans as they got upset by Mississippi State; first win in Baton Rouge for State since 1991. LSU's offense without Mettenberger is in a bad way this year.
4. Arkansas vs A&M is this week's most intriguing matchup. A&M started out as a double digit favorite but that line is now 8.5 points from what I see. Who's going to control the tempo...A&M's high powered, turbo charged attack or the Hogs rushing attack which ground Tech into the dust?
3. Very quickly regarding Winston...I find it as sort of weird that he got suspended, yet he was still on the sidelines. I'm not going to read anything into it more than that, I'm just saying, like Kirk Herbstreit mentioned on twitter, that it's just bizarre.
2. On another note, I think that game Saturday was FSU's best chance to lose. Now that they survived that game without Jameis, they should run the table easily to the four team playoff.
1. Denver may have lost to Seattle, but I think they showed well and it seems to me they are more equipped to beat the Seahawks than they were back in January. I remember saying right here back in January that Seattle was better because they could run the ball and they could play defense much better than Denver could. There is no longer a significant gap in those two areas. Seattle isn't going to be able to push Denver around anymore and I think when the playoffs start this year, Denver will be in much better position to win a title than they were last season. Remember, they're playing all the NFC West this year, so when the playoffs start, they will be mentally tougher than a year ago.
Bonus thoughts: The Kansas City Royals might make the MLB playoffs for the first time in 29 years, but it will be in spite of Ned Yost not because of him. There's a reason Milwaukee fired him in the middle of a pennant race when he was there...I'm looking forward to the Ryder Cup this weekend, but we are probably going to get hammered...Regardless of what happens with the Astros in the last week of the season, this season is significant progress...69 wins with still the possibility of avoiding 90 losses....The Rockets should have fired McHale after they lost to Portland in the playoffs. Keeping him will be a big mistake...And as far as a World Series prediction, Dodgers over Halos in 5.
Until next time...
The one thing I will say about the off-field stuff is that the NFL and college football for the most part are fortunate that the leagues and the games sell themselves otherwise there would be an even bigger problem. That said...away we go.
20. Never count out a Steeler football team, ever. People left them for dead after that awful performance against Baltimore but Steeler pride more often than not shines through. They proved that on Sunday night by demolishing a pretty solid Carolina Panther football team.
19. Saints got their first win of the year against a hapless Minnesota squad without Peterson. If there is ever a team that could come from 0-2 to make the playoffs, it's a team led by Drew Brees. Watch for more huge numbers for Drew against Dallas, which he does routinely.
18. The Redskins offense is a different offense when Kirk Cousins is in the game. It's too bad because I really liked RGIII coming out of college, but it's obvious Wash is a better football team with Cousins manning the snaps. They're not great still, but better with Cousins behind center.
17. The Cowboys offensive line is the best offensive line they've had in quite some time. On my way to doing something on Friday morning, I was listening to Mike and Mike and I think they said the Cowboys had three first round offensive line picks in their rotation. That is helping their offense be what it is right now. They can't stop anyone but they can score a lot of points.
16. Buffalo comes back to Earth. Unlike Chicago (sorry, they have Cutler and he'll never sniff that trophy) and Miami, San Diego is a legitimate Super Bowl contender and they smacked around Buffalo pretty good.
15. The Patriots are 2-1 but it's obvious Brady isn't what he used to be. They just barely scratched by Oakland and now they have to go to Kansas City on a Monday night, then play a really good Cincinnati squad six days later. Tough stretch.
14. Speaking of Kansas City, big win at Miami (where they rarely win in the first place) to keep them from 0-3. They play New England at home next Monday, then go to the Niners and San Diego. If they can somehow get to 3-3 after those first six, they have some winnable games after that.
13. Hoke has got to go at Michigan. Did anyone see how empty that stadium was in the fourth quarter with Michigan down 26-10?
12. Auburn beat K-State by six, but barely squeezed by. A win is a win, but K-State is going to be kicking themselves for the rest of the season after losing that one the way they did. Oh and as someone from a Nebraska family I don't want to hear that the flyover states can't compete with the great and mighty SEC. That is complete bollocks.
In the last year, Missouri won the SEC East (yes you read that right), Oklahoma beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and Tennessee about a week ago, Nebraska beat Georgia in its bowl game and K-State took Auburn (for the record, my national title pick) to the wire.
11. Alabama gets 645 yards on Florida. Yaaaaaaaay. Florida is a lame squad this year and Muschamp will likely be gone following the season so excuse me if I'm not impressed yet...Bama hasn't even played a ranked team yet. A&M, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn have all beat at least one ranked team and three of those four teams won true road games. The best team Bama played was West Virginia who isn't ranked and only lost to them by 10...and Oklahoma by the way scored more points against WVU (on the road too) than Bama did.
10. Ryan Fitzpatrick is still not a very good NFL quarterback and for those Texans fans who say that he's anything more than decent...well, you can have your opinion and I'll disagree with it. They're going to be better than they look this year, but no playoffs.
9. If anyone has a panic button in San Francisco, now might be a really good time to hit it. That Ferrari they are running around with is 1-2 and got lapped in the second half each of the last two weeks. By the way, the Niners are getting outscored by a cumulative 52-3 in the second half of their games this year. Oh, and Arizona's for real. That's a physical, nasty, vicious football team.
8. I guess you can try and clean up a program as much as you can, but you can never really take the chippiness out of the Miami Hurricanes. Nice win for the Huskers, game that looked a little bit like old-school power football. Oh and that roughing the passer call on Nebraska was horrendous in that game. I know about the new roughing the passer rules in college, but if you watched the play the Miami player blocked our guy into the quarterback and the hit wasn't even below the knees.
7. Cal was up 31-13 at Arizona starting the fourth quarter but somehow manages to lose 49-45 on the last play of the game on a Hail Mary. How in the world does that happen?
6. Ravens kicked a game winning field goal to squeak by the Browns, but I like where the Browns are headed. They beat a New Orleans team that's pretty good and have been competitive in all of their first three games.
5. Sad weekend for LSU fans as they got upset by Mississippi State; first win in Baton Rouge for State since 1991. LSU's offense without Mettenberger is in a bad way this year.
4. Arkansas vs A&M is this week's most intriguing matchup. A&M started out as a double digit favorite but that line is now 8.5 points from what I see. Who's going to control the tempo...A&M's high powered, turbo charged attack or the Hogs rushing attack which ground Tech into the dust?
3. Very quickly regarding Winston...I find it as sort of weird that he got suspended, yet he was still on the sidelines. I'm not going to read anything into it more than that, I'm just saying, like Kirk Herbstreit mentioned on twitter, that it's just bizarre.
2. On another note, I think that game Saturday was FSU's best chance to lose. Now that they survived that game without Jameis, they should run the table easily to the four team playoff.
1. Denver may have lost to Seattle, but I think they showed well and it seems to me they are more equipped to beat the Seahawks than they were back in January. I remember saying right here back in January that Seattle was better because they could run the ball and they could play defense much better than Denver could. There is no longer a significant gap in those two areas. Seattle isn't going to be able to push Denver around anymore and I think when the playoffs start this year, Denver will be in much better position to win a title than they were last season. Remember, they're playing all the NFC West this year, so when the playoffs start, they will be mentally tougher than a year ago.
Bonus thoughts: The Kansas City Royals might make the MLB playoffs for the first time in 29 years, but it will be in spite of Ned Yost not because of him. There's a reason Milwaukee fired him in the middle of a pennant race when he was there...I'm looking forward to the Ryder Cup this weekend, but we are probably going to get hammered...Regardless of what happens with the Astros in the last week of the season, this season is significant progress...69 wins with still the possibility of avoiding 90 losses....The Rockets should have fired McHale after they lost to Portland in the playoffs. Keeping him will be a big mistake...And as far as a World Series prediction, Dodgers over Halos in 5.
Until next time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)