We're almost to the end of September and though it's impossible to know what will happen over the next three or four months of the football season, it's clear that identities are starting to be forged.
From the National Football League...
- The Arizona Cardinals MAY be the NFC's best team. 3-0 and the three wins are by an average of 25 points in a league where close games are the norm, not the exception. I say they MAY be the NFL's best team because there's no way you're going to get rid of the Seahawks and Packers that easily. As expected, the Hawks smacked around the hapless Bears Sunday and will likely smack around Detroit next Monday night at the Clink (that's Century Link Field). But for now, the Cardinals look lethal.
- As for the Packers/Chiefs game last night, the Packers do still look tough without Jordy Nelson (still personally my Super Bowl pick even without Jordy), but is it possible for the Chiefs to find a quarterback that's better than Alex Smith? Granted, he's better than some of the other black holes for quarterbacks in the league (Ryan Fitzpatrick and Johnny Manziel for example) but the Chiefs are never going to win anything with him. Suddenly with a trip to the Cincinnati Jungle upcoming, the Chiefs are staring a 1-3 start right in the face.
- Texans got their first win of the year and are still alive in the AFC South but there are still a lot of ugly units on this team, first and foremost the offensive line. Was it really not that long ago that the Texans had the best offensive line in football? Was it really not that long ago that Arian Foster had an enormous season and the Texans made the playoffs for the first time? My, how things change. Now, Foster's struggling with injury and the offensive line is a complete mess. Good thing the AFC South is a complete mess as well. Too bad the Texans might get blown out in Atlanta next week...the Falcons are flying high. Pun intended.
- Not sure which division is worse, the AFC South or NFC East. The AFC South as stated earlier has all teams below .500 and the only team in the NFC East above .500 is the Cowboys without Romo and Dez Bryant. Very real possibility that both of those division winners could be 8-8 or 9-7.
- They may not hold up all season and both their wins came against winless teams, but there is something to be said for the Raiders being 2-1. I think Jack Del Rio is a good fit for them as a coach; he emphasizes tough, physical football which is Raider football at its best. He's also a Bay Area native so he knows the culture there.
A few college notes now:
- How about Auburn, being #6 in the country preseason, being already out of the SEC West race before September even ends? I'm really not sure how people bought that hype train but those who did it are eating a whole lot of crow. I like Malzahn as their coach and always have, but who they have at QB right now isn't taking them anywhere.
- Many of my readers are Husker fans, so let me just say this: 126th nationally in pass defense. I suppose I can deal with being terrible against the pass better than being terrible against the run especially in the Big 10, but this is not a good sign moving forward. What really bothers me right now is that not only did NU nearly lose to Southern Miss Saturday they gave up 300 yards passing in one half (when you should be getting better from the first to the second half, not worse), and they had 12 penalties. That is not the sign of a good football team.
They also appear to be regressing as the season goes which isn't a good sign. I'd like to say there's at least four more guaranteed wins on this schedule but that team Saturday might not win more than one or two more games. I would say Purdue is probably a gimme win, and MAYBE Illinois Saturday but other than that...I don't know. That said, unlike Callahan Riley beat Southern Miss in his first year so there's that.
- The more things change, the more they stay exactly the same. Texas A&M beats Arkansas in OT, again, after Arkansas allows an A&M receiver to get behind them and help tie the game, again. Arkansas fans must be seeing deja vu flashbacks this week. Third straight loss for Arkansas also and with Bama, Ole Miss and LSU still on the schedule (and all on the road) they are staring at a long football season.
- Texas is 1-3 as well after another special teams miscue (second consecutive week) and they are staring at a rocky road also with TCU and Oklahoma on deck. Of those two they'll probably stand a better shot against Oklahoma because of the rivalry factor. The State Fair game in Dallas has been a crazy, unpredictable rivalry for years; a winless John Blake-led OU team beat a very talented Texas team in 1996 so anything is possible.
- Texas Tech gave it all they had against TCU, but still that's a heck of a way to lose a football game, on a tipped pass in the end zone. Nebraska caught a similar break many years ago on the way to a national title. Speaking of the Huskers, the TCU player who caught the game winner; former Husker Aaron Green, who played high school ball at San Antonio Madison.
Now for some baseball:
- As if the Washington Nationals season wasn't tough enough, Sunday you had reliever Jonathan Papelbon and star Bryce Harper fighting in the Nationals dugout. You can read more about it here if you don't know already: Harper and Papelbon fight
According to various outlets that I've seen this whole thing started when Harper didn't run hard out of the box on a pop fly. I don't care what, or who started it, but I can say this: It's the kind of thing that happens when a team who was supposed to win 95 to 100 games has one of the most disappointing years in recent memory. The Nationals have a lot of talented players and when things don't go your way, egos make their way to the surface. It's not a good mix.
- The Astros kept their season alive for now by winning two of three from the other team up I-45 (Rangers) and won last night in Seattle too. They cannot afford to rest easy though; the Angels trail for the last wild card spot by just a half game and they've seemingly rediscovered the winning touch they had during the first half of the summer. Minnesota's hot on Houston's tail too and has a beatable Cleveland team and a Royals team that's leaking oil down the stretch.
- Even should the Astros get in though, Toronto will likely be the heavy favorite to win the American League especially if they end up with home field throughout. David Price changed the entire complexion of their team and they know this is their one shot because Price is a free agent this offseason. Those guys can swing some big sticks as well...their runs scored/runs allowed differential is well over a whopping +200.
- I'm not sure who's going to win the NL at this point, that is much more of a mystery. I know one team that won't though; the Dodgers even with Greinke and Kershaw. Got swept in Colorado this past weekend and lost in 12 to the Giants last night. Believe it or not, they have not won the NL West yet. They most likely will, but they are playing poorly at the wrong time of year while their potential Division Series opponent the New York Mets are steamrolling towards the playoffs.
Finally, though I'm not a guy to beat my religious views over everyone's head, this is a sports blog after all (I personally have been Catholic for a VERY long time), I have to address Pope Francis' visit here to the USA this past weekend. No matter your religious views or whether you believe in God or not, I am glad to see the coverage this got all weekend long. My view on Pope Francis is this: I support anyone who sits on that chair in the Vatican personally and Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI did wonderful things, but this Pope is a totally different breed and has done many amazing things since being named Pope two years ago.
I could beat you over the head with article after article about his visit, but I won't do that. Instead, I'm going to leave you with a stirring rendition of what we like to call The Lord's Prayer, done Saturday in Philadelphia. No matter your religious views, I think this is the best version of The Lord's Prayer that has ever been done Lord's Prayer in Philadelphia. Additionally, if you would like to read any of Pope Francis' remarks while he was here in the USA this week, this is a good link to go to Pope's remarks
Until next time...
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