Just a few notes as this Thursday is winding down:
Congrats to Bill Snyder and Trev Alberts for getting into the College Football Hall of Fame, but most notably Snyder. Nebraska had some battles with him dating all the way back to the old Big 8 days, and there's no way you can't think anything but the utmost respect for Bill and the way he has built that program. Just as a reminder, when he came to Manhattan in 1989, they were considering dropping football altogether. Ten years later, he had them competing for national championships. There are few coaches who can do what he's done at Manhattan, Kansas.
On another note, Jim Mora Jr. of UCLA is a great coach, but needs to learn a little respect. It does not look good on him 1. brushing off a handshake from Snyder and 2. trying to confront Snyder like he did at the end of the Alamo Bowl. If you have a problem with the way K-State handled the end of that game, take it up with his players, not Coach Snyder himself.
Rockets got two out of three on their road trip, with the lone loss being in Chicago. That's solid, but in the West this year you have to take care of business against the teams you're supposed to beat, point blank. This year in the West you can drop from second to fifth in a heartbeat.
Heard new Nebraska football coach Mike Riley on ESPNU during the Nebrasketball game tonight, and I continue to be impressed with the way he handles himself. If he handles himself like that, then I can be happy with him being the face of the football program, unlike Coach Bitter Beer Face (Pelini) who won nine every year but was a terrible look for the football program.
On that note, much needed win for Nebrasketball as they got their two best inside players back. I just hope they play good ball the rest of the way; they dug themselves quite a hole with all the injuries and terrible losses in the first two months of the year.
Until next time....
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Monday, January 5, 2015
The College Football Playoffs and the NFL 1/5/2015
What a week of football that was. Just some of my thoughts on a Monday morning:
Most who know me know that I have been howling for a college football playoff for quite some time. I think this first year of the playoff shows that the playoff works. Those who watch college football have probably heard this about five million times since Thursday night, but I'll repeat it just because it cannot be stated enough.
If we were still in the B(S)CS era, then the championship game would have been overrated, undefeated Florida State against one-loss Alabama. Alabama probably would have won, and the SEC streak would have resumed. Instead, we're getting Ohio State and Oregon which should be a fun game to watch.
If we were still in the B(S)CS era, then the championship game would have been overrated, undefeated Florida State against one-loss Alabama. Alabama probably would have won, and the SEC streak would have resumed. Instead, we're getting Ohio State and Oregon which should be a fun game to watch.
Let's begin with FSU and Oregon. Honestly, could anyone have predicted that annihilation? It was a five point game at halftime, and then one bad quarter by FSU later, it's a rout. I don't think FSU is a bad team per se, but certainly they were not on the same level as they were one year ago when they ran the table.
Some will say that FSU had it coming; I'm not sure if that's true, but I do know that the TCU alumni I have talked to wonder even more if they should have been in at the expense of someone else. It's honestly a tough situation. I think TCU did belong, but honestly, who were you going to take out? Alabama? Undefeated FSU? You certainly can't leave out Oregon and I think Ohio State proved they belonged. Imagine if TCU HAD held on against Baylor and had gone unbeaten, would have been an even tougher decision.
As far as FSU walking off the field ala the 1991 Detroit Pistons, that was bush league, point blank. They say it's always easier to be classy when you win (a moniker which is very much true and has been applied to Nebraska fans by fans of various former Nebraska opponents), and it can very much be said about FSU. You're telling me you can't walk across the field and shake the hands of the victor, who just mopped you up like you were nothing? The ironic thing is that Jameis Winston, yes that Jameis Winston was man enough to stay on the field. Too bad the rest of his teammates weren't.
As far as FSU walking off the field ala the 1991 Detroit Pistons, that was bush league, point blank. They say it's always easier to be classy when you win (a moniker which is very much true and has been applied to Nebraska fans by fans of various former Nebraska opponents), and it can very much be said about FSU. You're telling me you can't walk across the field and shake the hands of the victor, who just mopped you up like you were nothing? The ironic thing is that Jameis Winston, yes that Jameis Winston was man enough to stay on the field. Too bad the rest of his teammates weren't.
As far as OSU vs. Bama: the biggest irony about that game is that Southeast Conference commissioner Mike Slive, along with ACC commissioner John Swofford, was one of the forerunners of a four team playoff, and Big 10 commissioner Jim Delany was one of the men dead set against it (so was University of Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman, one of the very few things I disagree with Chancellor Perlman on). But Thursday night in New Orleans, in an enormous twist of irony, in a national semifinal it was the leader of Jim Delany's Big 10 Conference that rolled the mighty Crimson Tide and ended the SEC dynasty...and make no mistake, it's over, in a way.
Don't get me wrong, SEC teams will still get championships (in fact I think they and the Big 10 will be the two best college football leagues going into the future), but they'll never win seven in a row again. It's just not going to happen. Just like Nebraska going 60-3 over a five year stretch from 93-97 won't ever happen again. The rest of college football has finally caught up with them.
Urban Meyer's got a team that's already as fast as any SEC team and he's only in his third year in Columbus. Harbaugh will bring Michigan back in short order. TCU would have been a very tough matchup for any SEC team (or any team period) as they showed Ole Miss. Oregon probably would have beat Bama soundly and UCLA and USC are on the way up too.
Also, because of the new New Year's Six system, the SEC will no longer have favorable matchups in the bowls as that effect trickles down to the rest of the games. In two of the three New Year's Six matchups on Dec. 31, the Mississippi schools got SMOKED.
As far as the Ohio State/Oregon matchup for the title, I'm not sure who I will pick to win that game. I think it will be a good game with lots of scoring. One thing to keep in mind about Ohio State; do not be fooled by them having a third string quarterback. That does not matter all that much because that quarterback led them to a 59-0 thrashing of the Badgers and a win over the mighty Crimson Tide. Furthermore, Ohio State's more of a system offense. Most capable quarterbacks I think could go in and do well in that system.
One last note about the college football playoff, there is only one problem I have with it going forward; the two national semifinals in each of the next two years will be on New Year's Eve, not New Year's Day. I think that is one thing that the head honchos of the playoff dropped the ball on. The way this thing worked was absolutely perfect, with the final two games on New Year's Day ending up as the two biggest games of the season thus far. The national semifinals, IMHO, need to be on New Year's Day every year, point blank.
Regarding the NFL playoff matchups over the weekend, the results for the most part were not that surprising to me. The best and most controversial game over the weekend, and the game that will have Detroit Lions fans (and pretty much every Dallas Cowboy hater on the planet) howling for years, was the game at AT&T Stadium yesterday. All of you who watched that game saw the play, eight minutes to go, third and one for the Lions in the Dallas end of the field. They throw to Pettigrew, refs originally call pass interference which would have been a Lions first down, then inexplicably pick up the flag.
The refs screwed that up, point blank. Not only was there pass interference on Hitchens but he grabbed Pettigrew as well. That said, the play should have been offsetting penalties and Detroit gets the third down over because Pettigrew grabbed Hitchens' face mask which should have been called also. That seems to be something that people are glossing over when looking at that play. So at worst, it should have been third down over again for Detroit. But the refs screwed that call up, no doubt. Should have been a flag on somebody, if not both teams.
Until next time...
Don't get me wrong, SEC teams will still get championships (in fact I think they and the Big 10 will be the two best college football leagues going into the future), but they'll never win seven in a row again. It's just not going to happen. Just like Nebraska going 60-3 over a five year stretch from 93-97 won't ever happen again. The rest of college football has finally caught up with them.
Urban Meyer's got a team that's already as fast as any SEC team and he's only in his third year in Columbus. Harbaugh will bring Michigan back in short order. TCU would have been a very tough matchup for any SEC team (or any team period) as they showed Ole Miss. Oregon probably would have beat Bama soundly and UCLA and USC are on the way up too.
Also, because of the new New Year's Six system, the SEC will no longer have favorable matchups in the bowls as that effect trickles down to the rest of the games. In two of the three New Year's Six matchups on Dec. 31, the Mississippi schools got SMOKED.
As far as the Ohio State/Oregon matchup for the title, I'm not sure who I will pick to win that game. I think it will be a good game with lots of scoring. One thing to keep in mind about Ohio State; do not be fooled by them having a third string quarterback. That does not matter all that much because that quarterback led them to a 59-0 thrashing of the Badgers and a win over the mighty Crimson Tide. Furthermore, Ohio State's more of a system offense. Most capable quarterbacks I think could go in and do well in that system.
One last note about the college football playoff, there is only one problem I have with it going forward; the two national semifinals in each of the next two years will be on New Year's Eve, not New Year's Day. I think that is one thing that the head honchos of the playoff dropped the ball on. The way this thing worked was absolutely perfect, with the final two games on New Year's Day ending up as the two biggest games of the season thus far. The national semifinals, IMHO, need to be on New Year's Day every year, point blank.
Regarding the NFL playoff matchups over the weekend, the results for the most part were not that surprising to me. The best and most controversial game over the weekend, and the game that will have Detroit Lions fans (and pretty much every Dallas Cowboy hater on the planet) howling for years, was the game at AT&T Stadium yesterday. All of you who watched that game saw the play, eight minutes to go, third and one for the Lions in the Dallas end of the field. They throw to Pettigrew, refs originally call pass interference which would have been a Lions first down, then inexplicably pick up the flag.
The refs screwed that up, point blank. Not only was there pass interference on Hitchens but he grabbed Pettigrew as well. That said, the play should have been offsetting penalties and Detroit gets the third down over because Pettigrew grabbed Hitchens' face mask which should have been called also. That seems to be something that people are glossing over when looking at that play. So at worst, it should have been third down over again for Detroit. But the refs screwed that call up, no doubt. Should have been a flag on somebody, if not both teams.
Until next time...
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Thoughts 12/30/2014
Busy weekend of football and sports overall. Just a number thoughts on these:
First of all, Black Monday in the NFL. I generally am not surprised by some of the names I see that went on the chopping block. The Bears, Falcons, Jets and 49ers will all be looking for new head coaches. I'll get to the other three in a moment but first a thought on the Harbaugh situation.
As most sports fans may have heard already, not even 24 hours after agreeing to part ways with the Niners, Jim Harbaugh is already set to take the vacant head coach position at the University of Michigan, his alma mater. You could see it was going to happen when he was hugging his players on the sidelines at the end of the San Francisco/Arizona game Sunday.
How this impacts the 49ers will be interesting. There are still a lot of good players on the team, and Harbaugh left a great foundation, but replacing a guy like that will be very tough. The Niners are very committed to winning, so I am sure they will hire the best man for that position.
As far as how that affects Michigan and the Big Ten, I would say this as far as the rest of the Big 10, including Ohio State is concerned; be afraid, be very afraid. Harbaugh walks that line a lot in so far as being as fiery as Bo Pelini is, and sometimes crosses it. But there is no question the man can coach at a very high level and I see no reason to believe that he can't do it in Ann Arbor.
Especially with the talent Hoke left him. Hoke could recruit but lacked ability to coach. That will not be a problem with Harbaugh; he is going to give Urban Meyer heartburn on a yearly basis. Ohio State still has a great program do not get me wrong, but things are going to get tougher for them immediately.
Elsewhere, I see that Rex Ryan and general manager Izdik were both let go by the Jets. I am not surprised, but I feel bad for Rex Ryan. He was never really given a chance to develop an offense due to a terrible front office in New York, and kept the Jets competitive due to his great defensive background. He will land on his feet somewhere.
On the Bears? No surprise there. Trestman is not a very good coach; I remember when he was coaching Jake Plummer for three years way back when both of them were with the Cardinals and he stunk then too, and he still stinks now. Way in over his head as a head coach.
As far as Mike Smith in Atlanta, not surprised there too. The Falcons with the exception of a couple of seasons have underachieved greatly and barely made it to the NFC Championship a couple years ago. They have gone downhill ever since.
As far as some other conclusions from the National Football League in week 17:
The Texans did well to go 9-7, especially since they ended up playing a fourth string quarterback because Fitzpatrick was terrible, and Mallett and Savage got hurt. Both JJ Watt and Bill O'Brien did a great job to get the Texans to a winning record. They are one quarterback away from returning to the playoffs IMHO.
The Chiefs did well to go 9-7 too, especially since they did not have A SINGLE touchdown catch by a wide receiver this year. Seriously, that is an outrageous stat. Much like O'Brien in Houston, Andy Reid did a tremendous job with the Chiefs this year. The Chiefs need a home run receiver, badly. DeAnthony Thomas is nice, but not a reliable home run threat right now.
Buffalo beat New England in Week 17 which may not sound like much since the Patriots were obviously disinterested, but two things this did; one, it gives Buffalo a winning season, even though no playoffs. Two, it breaks a 14 year losing streak in Foxboro.
The Vikings beat the Bears in Trestman's last game 13-9, which got them their seventh and final win of 2014. It may not be that significant, but Bridgewater did a heck of a job coming in and helping them get to seven wins. He needs more help around him, but did fine for his rookie season.
Regarding the first round of the playoffs, I'm taking every home team except Baltimore. The Cowboys should win, the Colts will win (after all, the Bengals never win playoff games these days) and the Panthers will beat an Arizona team that limps in with Ryan Lindley as its starting QB. Baltimore and Pittsburgh should be a great game but because of the experience of Flacco and Suggs and the question of LeVeon Bell's availability, I think the Ravens can win this game.
Now, on to the college scene...
On the Nebraska bowl loss to USC, I am proud of the effort the players gave. They left it all on the field and gave themselves a chance to beat a very talented team. That having been said, there are no moral victories at Dear Old Nebraska U. When we hit the field, we should play to win and have the pride and passion necessary to win.
Now, I mentioned Jim Harbaugh earlier. How does this relate to Nebraska? It means this, and let's be honest, Nebraska peeps: Things are going to get a lot tougher for the Big Red in coming years. Nebraska had a certain window of opportunity when it entered the Big 10 with Ohio State dealing with sanctions and Michigan searching for an identity.
It had an opportunity to gain a foothold, and some respect. It has done little of either; indeed, Nebraska has become much more like Wisconsin, Iowa or Minnesota than Ohio State. Those teams aren't all that talented but with Pelini as the coach at UNL, they all did the little things better than Nebraska did.
With Harbaugh going to Michigan, things become much tougher. Wisconsin has a good program, as we sadly have found out first hand. Minnesota has a program on the rise. Ohio State is still Ohio State, and Michigan will come back under Harbaugh. Penn State is a program on the rise as well. Let's just put it this way: we're here (puts hand at certain level), Minnesota and Wisconsin are up here (points up a notch or two) and Ohio State and Michigan will be way up here (points about one or two notches more).
Not only does Riley have this to deal with, and not only does he have to do a hell of a job recruiting to keep Nebraska somewhat afloat in today's college football, maybe the most concerning thing to me is that he has to get the Pelini poison out of the players' heads. I don't know what Bo did to them, but they were fiercely loyal to him and Riley is going to have a tough time getting them to listen to him. I was really struck by a story I saw last Saturday prior to the Holiday Bowl where the players left a seat for Pelini as if he were still coaching. I think Riley CAN do it, but whether he WILL is no guarantee.
As far as the other bowl games, my biggest takeaway is that the Big 12 is not a very good conference. 0-3 and the two biggest flagship names of the conference, Texas and Oklahoma, got annihilated Monday night. Texas I guess I can somewhat understand, they were completely outmanned and Arkansas cares a lot more about beating Texas than Texas does about beating Arkansas (for those who don't live down here and are not familiar, that's an old Southwest Conference rivalry that is somewhat dormant, but older Arkansas fans still see Texas as their most disliked team by far, even though the Hogs have spent over 20 years in the SEC).
But Oklahoma, good gracious. Losing by 40, to a mediocre team from a mediocre league in Clemson. With a backup QB, too. I respect, but have never liked Oklahoma and never will (seeing Sooner Magic too many times would do that to any Husker fan). I pretty much root against them no matter who they play. But I almost felt sorry for Sooner fans Monday night. I almost wonder if Bob Stoops is just mailing it in these days. How in the world did this team beat Alabama about a year ago?
And look at what's coming down the pike for Big 12 bowl teams: Ole Miss, a very good SEC team with a tough "Landshark" defensive unit. Michigan State, a tough, physical Big 10 team (good thing for Baylor that this game is in Arlington). A very good Pac-12 team in UCLA, and a beatable but Chris Petersen coached Washington squad. Yes, Baylor and TCU should be motivated. And they will need to be.
Couple of last basketball notes: Not surprised Kentucky beat Louisville in college basketball's Bluegrass battle. Louisville has a good squad but I'm surprised they don't just call the season at this point. Kentucky is so deep and so talented that if they don't win the title this year it will be quite a shock to most fans who follow the sport. They may lose a game or two, but it will be a regular season game where their heads aren't in the game (and that does happen in sports). When UK is focused, no one will beat them.
As far as the Rockets, they are a good team, but they still have some issues to fix that could prevent a deep run in the playoffs. They are a good team, but not the kind of team I would predict to go deep in the playoffs, not yet anyways. I will touch on that in another post soon.
Until next time....
First of all, Black Monday in the NFL. I generally am not surprised by some of the names I see that went on the chopping block. The Bears, Falcons, Jets and 49ers will all be looking for new head coaches. I'll get to the other three in a moment but first a thought on the Harbaugh situation.
As most sports fans may have heard already, not even 24 hours after agreeing to part ways with the Niners, Jim Harbaugh is already set to take the vacant head coach position at the University of Michigan, his alma mater. You could see it was going to happen when he was hugging his players on the sidelines at the end of the San Francisco/Arizona game Sunday.
How this impacts the 49ers will be interesting. There are still a lot of good players on the team, and Harbaugh left a great foundation, but replacing a guy like that will be very tough. The Niners are very committed to winning, so I am sure they will hire the best man for that position.
As far as how that affects Michigan and the Big Ten, I would say this as far as the rest of the Big 10, including Ohio State is concerned; be afraid, be very afraid. Harbaugh walks that line a lot in so far as being as fiery as Bo Pelini is, and sometimes crosses it. But there is no question the man can coach at a very high level and I see no reason to believe that he can't do it in Ann Arbor.
Especially with the talent Hoke left him. Hoke could recruit but lacked ability to coach. That will not be a problem with Harbaugh; he is going to give Urban Meyer heartburn on a yearly basis. Ohio State still has a great program do not get me wrong, but things are going to get tougher for them immediately.
Elsewhere, I see that Rex Ryan and general manager Izdik were both let go by the Jets. I am not surprised, but I feel bad for Rex Ryan. He was never really given a chance to develop an offense due to a terrible front office in New York, and kept the Jets competitive due to his great defensive background. He will land on his feet somewhere.
On the Bears? No surprise there. Trestman is not a very good coach; I remember when he was coaching Jake Plummer for three years way back when both of them were with the Cardinals and he stunk then too, and he still stinks now. Way in over his head as a head coach.
As far as Mike Smith in Atlanta, not surprised there too. The Falcons with the exception of a couple of seasons have underachieved greatly and barely made it to the NFC Championship a couple years ago. They have gone downhill ever since.
As far as some other conclusions from the National Football League in week 17:
The Texans did well to go 9-7, especially since they ended up playing a fourth string quarterback because Fitzpatrick was terrible, and Mallett and Savage got hurt. Both JJ Watt and Bill O'Brien did a great job to get the Texans to a winning record. They are one quarterback away from returning to the playoffs IMHO.
The Chiefs did well to go 9-7 too, especially since they did not have A SINGLE touchdown catch by a wide receiver this year. Seriously, that is an outrageous stat. Much like O'Brien in Houston, Andy Reid did a tremendous job with the Chiefs this year. The Chiefs need a home run receiver, badly. DeAnthony Thomas is nice, but not a reliable home run threat right now.
Buffalo beat New England in Week 17 which may not sound like much since the Patriots were obviously disinterested, but two things this did; one, it gives Buffalo a winning season, even though no playoffs. Two, it breaks a 14 year losing streak in Foxboro.
The Vikings beat the Bears in Trestman's last game 13-9, which got them their seventh and final win of 2014. It may not be that significant, but Bridgewater did a heck of a job coming in and helping them get to seven wins. He needs more help around him, but did fine for his rookie season.
Regarding the first round of the playoffs, I'm taking every home team except Baltimore. The Cowboys should win, the Colts will win (after all, the Bengals never win playoff games these days) and the Panthers will beat an Arizona team that limps in with Ryan Lindley as its starting QB. Baltimore and Pittsburgh should be a great game but because of the experience of Flacco and Suggs and the question of LeVeon Bell's availability, I think the Ravens can win this game.
Now, on to the college scene...
On the Nebraska bowl loss to USC, I am proud of the effort the players gave. They left it all on the field and gave themselves a chance to beat a very talented team. That having been said, there are no moral victories at Dear Old Nebraska U. When we hit the field, we should play to win and have the pride and passion necessary to win.
Now, I mentioned Jim Harbaugh earlier. How does this relate to Nebraska? It means this, and let's be honest, Nebraska peeps: Things are going to get a lot tougher for the Big Red in coming years. Nebraska had a certain window of opportunity when it entered the Big 10 with Ohio State dealing with sanctions and Michigan searching for an identity.
It had an opportunity to gain a foothold, and some respect. It has done little of either; indeed, Nebraska has become much more like Wisconsin, Iowa or Minnesota than Ohio State. Those teams aren't all that talented but with Pelini as the coach at UNL, they all did the little things better than Nebraska did.
With Harbaugh going to Michigan, things become much tougher. Wisconsin has a good program, as we sadly have found out first hand. Minnesota has a program on the rise. Ohio State is still Ohio State, and Michigan will come back under Harbaugh. Penn State is a program on the rise as well. Let's just put it this way: we're here (puts hand at certain level), Minnesota and Wisconsin are up here (points up a notch or two) and Ohio State and Michigan will be way up here (points about one or two notches more).
Not only does Riley have this to deal with, and not only does he have to do a hell of a job recruiting to keep Nebraska somewhat afloat in today's college football, maybe the most concerning thing to me is that he has to get the Pelini poison out of the players' heads. I don't know what Bo did to them, but they were fiercely loyal to him and Riley is going to have a tough time getting them to listen to him. I was really struck by a story I saw last Saturday prior to the Holiday Bowl where the players left a seat for Pelini as if he were still coaching. I think Riley CAN do it, but whether he WILL is no guarantee.
As far as the other bowl games, my biggest takeaway is that the Big 12 is not a very good conference. 0-3 and the two biggest flagship names of the conference, Texas and Oklahoma, got annihilated Monday night. Texas I guess I can somewhat understand, they were completely outmanned and Arkansas cares a lot more about beating Texas than Texas does about beating Arkansas (for those who don't live down here and are not familiar, that's an old Southwest Conference rivalry that is somewhat dormant, but older Arkansas fans still see Texas as their most disliked team by far, even though the Hogs have spent over 20 years in the SEC).
But Oklahoma, good gracious. Losing by 40, to a mediocre team from a mediocre league in Clemson. With a backup QB, too. I respect, but have never liked Oklahoma and never will (seeing Sooner Magic too many times would do that to any Husker fan). I pretty much root against them no matter who they play. But I almost felt sorry for Sooner fans Monday night. I almost wonder if Bob Stoops is just mailing it in these days. How in the world did this team beat Alabama about a year ago?
And look at what's coming down the pike for Big 12 bowl teams: Ole Miss, a very good SEC team with a tough "Landshark" defensive unit. Michigan State, a tough, physical Big 10 team (good thing for Baylor that this game is in Arlington). A very good Pac-12 team in UCLA, and a beatable but Chris Petersen coached Washington squad. Yes, Baylor and TCU should be motivated. And they will need to be.
Couple of last basketball notes: Not surprised Kentucky beat Louisville in college basketball's Bluegrass battle. Louisville has a good squad but I'm surprised they don't just call the season at this point. Kentucky is so deep and so talented that if they don't win the title this year it will be quite a shock to most fans who follow the sport. They may lose a game or two, but it will be a regular season game where their heads aren't in the game (and that does happen in sports). When UK is focused, no one will beat them.
As far as the Rockets, they are a good team, but they still have some issues to fix that could prevent a deep run in the playoffs. They are a good team, but not the kind of team I would predict to go deep in the playoffs, not yet anyways. I will touch on that in another post soon.
Until next time....
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Christmas Eve Sports Thoughts
Before we get to the brass tacks of this past football weekend and a few other items, I'd like to say this: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the readers of this blog. Hopefully all of you have a safe and wonderful holiday season.
That having been said...
Man how about that performance by the Texans and JJ Watt last Sunday? Quite simply, they were better prepared, better coached and played harder than the Baltimore football team who looked like the last thing they wanted was to be at NRG Stadium this past weekend. They still have a shot at the playoffs, but regardless of whether they get in or not, if they beat Jacksonville this Sunday and go 9-7, I consider this a successful season.
I consider it a successful season if 9-7 especially when you think about Andre Johnson being largely invisible, no Foster for large parts of the year, fourth string quarterback and they still might get to the playoffs with a win and some help. O'Brien and Watt have done an amazing job with this team. Oh and by the way, tell me a more deserving candidate than JJ Watt for Most Valuable Player. Tell me a man who is more valuable to his team than JJ Watt is to Houston. Oh but that's right, I forgot, the MVP award always goes to an offensive player. Shame.
Let's be real guys, Seattle's the team to beat, at least through the NFC if they win Sunday and get home field. I'll repeat something that Jim Rome said on his radio show Monday which I wholeheartedly agree with; if you thought that Seattle's 12th Man was obnoxious before, then buckle up because they will be insufferable if they win Sunday and end up with home field. Because honestly, who's going to beat them in that building on the way to the Super Bowl? The Packers are dangerous, I agree, Detroit's got a great defense and the Cowboys are much improved and beat them there already. But Seattle hasn't played this well all season.
Believe it or not, the Broncos have not locked up a first round bye yet, they have to beat the Raiders this Sunday. And even if they survive Sunday and get a first round bye, they are very, very vulnerable to get beat by either Cincinnati or Pittsburgh in round 2 of the playoffs. Peyton Manning may yet get his groove back, but things do not look good right now.
No matter what happens, it's going to be a great Week 17. Three games to decide division championships (AFC North, NFC South and NFC North, plus Seattle can clinch their division also), plus the playoff race will be decided in the AFC, and first round byes in both conferences are up for grabs.
Regarding the beginning of the college bowl season, I've caught what I can of the games so far and I have three observations:
1. Colorado State is going to go downhill fast. Not only did they lose McElwain, they hired Mike Bobo to replace him. I think the SEC East fleeced CSU on these two deals, the first deal being that McElwain is one of the game's elite coaches and that the Gators will put the entire SEC, as well as FSU, on notice. The second part of this is that Bobo has NEVER been a college football head coach in his entire career, and throughout his time as OC at UGA, he came under fire from UGA fans for his (at times) perplexing play calls.
For example, in the Georgia/South Carolina game this year, Georgia was down three points late and got a turnover at the South Carolina 4, first and goal. He called a peculiar first down pass play that fell incomplete, and UGA eventually missed a chip shot field goal and lost by three. He had an All-American running back (Gurley) and chose to throw on first down instead which absolutely baffled me. He has much less resources to work with than he had at UGA, he's head coach for the first time and CSU in the bowl game looked lost without McElwain. They have talent there but I am skeptical that Bobo will do well there.
2. That BYU/Memphis game was a great game...what happened after that game and the fight that ensued, not so much. It's a shame that such a thrilling game had to be tarnished by that fracas at the end of the game.
3. Rakeem Cato capped off a great career at Marshall with a bowl game win over Northern Illinois; as to whether he will be successful in the pro game, it will be interesting to see who takes him if anyone and where. I think he can be successful but mainly as a long-term project type of player.
On basketball real quick, the Big 10 is not very good in that sport this year. Down year it looks like for the Big 10. Just this year, in out of conference play, Big 10 teams have lost to: NJIT (that's New Jersey Institute of Technology, for those unaware), Eastern Michigan, St. Peter's, St. Francis, Central Michigan, Incarnate Word (ugh, that was the ugly loss Nebraska had), North Florida, Eastern Washington and Texas Southern.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 is a very strong conference in basketball this year, 6 (or 7, depending on which poll you prefer) teams in the top 25 so far even though Texas lost to Stanford last night.
On the NBA, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers is a special, special player. He proved it against the Rockets last year in the playoffs, but is cementing it even more this year. In the past week, he's outdueled BOTH of last year's Western Conference finalists, scoring 43 against the Spurs last Friday in a triple overtime win, and scoring 40 last night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder in an overtime win there. I don't think he's the BEST point guard in the Association, but I'd put him no worse than fourth or fifth and he will only get better.
Until next time....
That having been said...
Man how about that performance by the Texans and JJ Watt last Sunday? Quite simply, they were better prepared, better coached and played harder than the Baltimore football team who looked like the last thing they wanted was to be at NRG Stadium this past weekend. They still have a shot at the playoffs, but regardless of whether they get in or not, if they beat Jacksonville this Sunday and go 9-7, I consider this a successful season.
I consider it a successful season if 9-7 especially when you think about Andre Johnson being largely invisible, no Foster for large parts of the year, fourth string quarterback and they still might get to the playoffs with a win and some help. O'Brien and Watt have done an amazing job with this team. Oh and by the way, tell me a more deserving candidate than JJ Watt for Most Valuable Player. Tell me a man who is more valuable to his team than JJ Watt is to Houston. Oh but that's right, I forgot, the MVP award always goes to an offensive player. Shame.
Let's be real guys, Seattle's the team to beat, at least through the NFC if they win Sunday and get home field. I'll repeat something that Jim Rome said on his radio show Monday which I wholeheartedly agree with; if you thought that Seattle's 12th Man was obnoxious before, then buckle up because they will be insufferable if they win Sunday and end up with home field. Because honestly, who's going to beat them in that building on the way to the Super Bowl? The Packers are dangerous, I agree, Detroit's got a great defense and the Cowboys are much improved and beat them there already. But Seattle hasn't played this well all season.
Believe it or not, the Broncos have not locked up a first round bye yet, they have to beat the Raiders this Sunday. And even if they survive Sunday and get a first round bye, they are very, very vulnerable to get beat by either Cincinnati or Pittsburgh in round 2 of the playoffs. Peyton Manning may yet get his groove back, but things do not look good right now.
No matter what happens, it's going to be a great Week 17. Three games to decide division championships (AFC North, NFC South and NFC North, plus Seattle can clinch their division also), plus the playoff race will be decided in the AFC, and first round byes in both conferences are up for grabs.
Regarding the beginning of the college bowl season, I've caught what I can of the games so far and I have three observations:
1. Colorado State is going to go downhill fast. Not only did they lose McElwain, they hired Mike Bobo to replace him. I think the SEC East fleeced CSU on these two deals, the first deal being that McElwain is one of the game's elite coaches and that the Gators will put the entire SEC, as well as FSU, on notice. The second part of this is that Bobo has NEVER been a college football head coach in his entire career, and throughout his time as OC at UGA, he came under fire from UGA fans for his (at times) perplexing play calls.
For example, in the Georgia/South Carolina game this year, Georgia was down three points late and got a turnover at the South Carolina 4, first and goal. He called a peculiar first down pass play that fell incomplete, and UGA eventually missed a chip shot field goal and lost by three. He had an All-American running back (Gurley) and chose to throw on first down instead which absolutely baffled me. He has much less resources to work with than he had at UGA, he's head coach for the first time and CSU in the bowl game looked lost without McElwain. They have talent there but I am skeptical that Bobo will do well there.
2. That BYU/Memphis game was a great game...what happened after that game and the fight that ensued, not so much. It's a shame that such a thrilling game had to be tarnished by that fracas at the end of the game.
3. Rakeem Cato capped off a great career at Marshall with a bowl game win over Northern Illinois; as to whether he will be successful in the pro game, it will be interesting to see who takes him if anyone and where. I think he can be successful but mainly as a long-term project type of player.
On basketball real quick, the Big 10 is not very good in that sport this year. Down year it looks like for the Big 10. Just this year, in out of conference play, Big 10 teams have lost to: NJIT (that's New Jersey Institute of Technology, for those unaware), Eastern Michigan, St. Peter's, St. Francis, Central Michigan, Incarnate Word (ugh, that was the ugly loss Nebraska had), North Florida, Eastern Washington and Texas Southern.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 is a very strong conference in basketball this year, 6 (or 7, depending on which poll you prefer) teams in the top 25 so far even though Texas lost to Stanford last night.
On the NBA, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers is a special, special player. He proved it against the Rockets last year in the playoffs, but is cementing it even more this year. In the past week, he's outdueled BOTH of last year's Western Conference finalists, scoring 43 against the Spurs last Friday in a triple overtime win, and scoring 40 last night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder in an overtime win there. I don't think he's the BEST point guard in the Association, but I'd put him no worse than fourth or fifth and he will only get better.
Until next time....
Thursday, December 11, 2014
The College Football Coaching Carousel and More
With the college football regular season and championship games having drawn to a close and only the bowl games left, the coaching carousel that happens every offseason has begun to spin. Here are a few thoughts to chew on for now:
The biggest news in major college football coaching the last 24 hours has obviously been the news that Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen is heading West to coach Oregon State, replacing the departed Mike Riley who was hired by Nebraska almost a week ago (more on that in a moment).
The thing about this Wisconsin deal is this: Barry Alvarez is a Nebraska guy, he played for Bob Devaney in the late 60s (66 to 68, as a matter of fact). I had respect for the way he built Wisconsin up in the 90s and into the 2000s. But as of late, he's too much like Jerry Jones for my liking. The guy is too hands on in the athletic director's chair and he just needs to let coaches coach.
Take, for instance, something I noticed in Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde's latest column, posted last night. In it is a quote by Alvarez, which was said after Bret Bielema left Wisconsin a couple of years ago to take the Arkansas job:
"Bret used my gameplan to win," he said. "The coach I hire will have to understand who we are and how we go about our business."
Does that sound like someone who wants to let his coaches coach? It doesn't to me. It sounds to me like someone who wants to take all the credit and glory for the Wisconsin program's success.
On that note, Andersen wanted to install his zone read offense at the beginning of the year. But midway through the season, they went back to being ground and pound Wisconsin, which is what Alvarez prefers. It sounds to me like these two never really were able to co-exist.
It also wouldn't totally surprise me if that 59-0 whitewashing by Ohio State in the championship game last week had something to do with the Wisconsin coaching situation. In particular, it wouldn't totally shock me if it comes out later that Andersen already knew he was leaving and just packed it in.
As to who Wisconsin will hire? I'm not a betting man generally but if I were in the business of prediction making I'd say it will be current Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst. Chryst is from Madison, played at Wisconsin in the late 80s and spent seven years as Wisconsin's offensive coordinator.
Regarding the hiring of Mike Riley to Nebraska, I am cautiously optimistic about the move even though Riley was not my first choice. He certainly is the opposite personality wise of Pelini, which is one thing the program needs. He is also doing a heck of a job trying to salvage the current Nebraska recruiting class. In general, Nebraska fans need to put down the pitchforks and give the man a chance to win...or lose...our trust. Speaking of Nebraska athletics...Incarnate Word? What the hell was that awful basketball performance? How did a good team get so crappy over several months? Any way you slice it that Cinderella story...long gone.
The guy I wanted in particular though, Jim McElwain, ended up at Florida. I think that's a great coaching hire by the Gators. Missouri has won the SEC East twice in a row but with McElwain in charge I'd say that little streak is in serious jeopardy.
Regarding the playoff matchups, be real. Alabama is the team to beat. Meyer is a good coach, Florida State is the defending champ and Oregon is perennially good but I really love Alabama's chances to win the whole thing. They have been trending upward for the past month, Sims is getting better with each game and Cooper's peaking right at the end of the season.
The scary part about Alabama in 2015 is that Blake Sims will be even better with a full offseason of development even though he loses Cooper...and LSU and Auburn will both be licking their wounds after down years. The only way I can see Auburn beating Bama next year is if they somehow get Muschamp. That could be an equalizer. And as for Lane Kiffin...Dead wrong about that one. Thought they would bust with his ego coming in. Not so.
As for the Big 12 teams being left out, the Big 12 did it to themselves in my opinion (and Ohio State played pretty well last game too). I have nothing against TCU or Baylor as I have many great friends from both schools, although I will say this: When you pay over $400,000 for the branding of the slogan "One True Champion" as the Big 12 did, then you name TCU and Baylor co-champs, get out of here with that. It's not Baylor or TCU's fault that they got left out, both had tremendous seasons. They should blame Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby and Big 12 administration for this one. Too bad because TCU could have played Alabama toe to toe.
One final Rockets thought: Team is 16-5 but still has a ways to go. 16-5 sounds good but only gets you tied for 4th in the Western Conference at that point...West is just ridiculous. 7th place team in the West is 17-7. Rockets need to get guys back healthy and beat the teams they are in contention with fairly regularly. 3-4 against the top 6 in the West this year isn't going to cut it...50 wins might only get you an 8 seed. Interestingly enough, the Rockets, even though they've made the NBA Finals four times and won two titles, have never won more than 58 games in a single season.
Until next time....
The biggest news in major college football coaching the last 24 hours has obviously been the news that Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen is heading West to coach Oregon State, replacing the departed Mike Riley who was hired by Nebraska almost a week ago (more on that in a moment).
The thing about this Wisconsin deal is this: Barry Alvarez is a Nebraska guy, he played for Bob Devaney in the late 60s (66 to 68, as a matter of fact). I had respect for the way he built Wisconsin up in the 90s and into the 2000s. But as of late, he's too much like Jerry Jones for my liking. The guy is too hands on in the athletic director's chair and he just needs to let coaches coach.
Take, for instance, something I noticed in Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde's latest column, posted last night. In it is a quote by Alvarez, which was said after Bret Bielema left Wisconsin a couple of years ago to take the Arkansas job:
"Bret used my gameplan to win," he said. "The coach I hire will have to understand who we are and how we go about our business."
Does that sound like someone who wants to let his coaches coach? It doesn't to me. It sounds to me like someone who wants to take all the credit and glory for the Wisconsin program's success.
On that note, Andersen wanted to install his zone read offense at the beginning of the year. But midway through the season, they went back to being ground and pound Wisconsin, which is what Alvarez prefers. It sounds to me like these two never really were able to co-exist.
It also wouldn't totally surprise me if that 59-0 whitewashing by Ohio State in the championship game last week had something to do with the Wisconsin coaching situation. In particular, it wouldn't totally shock me if it comes out later that Andersen already knew he was leaving and just packed it in.
As to who Wisconsin will hire? I'm not a betting man generally but if I were in the business of prediction making I'd say it will be current Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst. Chryst is from Madison, played at Wisconsin in the late 80s and spent seven years as Wisconsin's offensive coordinator.
Regarding the hiring of Mike Riley to Nebraska, I am cautiously optimistic about the move even though Riley was not my first choice. He certainly is the opposite personality wise of Pelini, which is one thing the program needs. He is also doing a heck of a job trying to salvage the current Nebraska recruiting class. In general, Nebraska fans need to put down the pitchforks and give the man a chance to win...or lose...our trust. Speaking of Nebraska athletics...Incarnate Word? What the hell was that awful basketball performance? How did a good team get so crappy over several months? Any way you slice it that Cinderella story...long gone.
The guy I wanted in particular though, Jim McElwain, ended up at Florida. I think that's a great coaching hire by the Gators. Missouri has won the SEC East twice in a row but with McElwain in charge I'd say that little streak is in serious jeopardy.
Regarding the playoff matchups, be real. Alabama is the team to beat. Meyer is a good coach, Florida State is the defending champ and Oregon is perennially good but I really love Alabama's chances to win the whole thing. They have been trending upward for the past month, Sims is getting better with each game and Cooper's peaking right at the end of the season.
The scary part about Alabama in 2015 is that Blake Sims will be even better with a full offseason of development even though he loses Cooper...and LSU and Auburn will both be licking their wounds after down years. The only way I can see Auburn beating Bama next year is if they somehow get Muschamp. That could be an equalizer. And as for Lane Kiffin...Dead wrong about that one. Thought they would bust with his ego coming in. Not so.
As for the Big 12 teams being left out, the Big 12 did it to themselves in my opinion (and Ohio State played pretty well last game too). I have nothing against TCU or Baylor as I have many great friends from both schools, although I will say this: When you pay over $400,000 for the branding of the slogan "One True Champion" as the Big 12 did, then you name TCU and Baylor co-champs, get out of here with that. It's not Baylor or TCU's fault that they got left out, both had tremendous seasons. They should blame Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby and Big 12 administration for this one. Too bad because TCU could have played Alabama toe to toe.
One final Rockets thought: Team is 16-5 but still has a ways to go. 16-5 sounds good but only gets you tied for 4th in the Western Conference at that point...West is just ridiculous. 7th place team in the West is 17-7. Rockets need to get guys back healthy and beat the teams they are in contention with fairly regularly. 3-4 against the top 6 in the West this year isn't going to cut it...50 wins might only get you an 8 seed. Interestingly enough, the Rockets, even though they've made the NBA Finals four times and won two titles, have never won more than 58 games in a single season.
Until next time....
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Football and Other Misc. Sports Thoughts Dec. 2, 2014
Can't believe we are winding down yet another football season. Just a few thoughts to ponder on for this evening:
- I saw the new College Football Playoff rankings and all I can say is this: Regardless of what TCU does this weekend, if Baylor beats K-State (a top 10 team, by the way) then Baylor should be ahead of them in the final playoff rankings, period end of story. In my world, head-to-head victories should still count for something. Bottom line is this: Teams might finish with the same conference record, same overall record, virtually the same rankings wise and TCU's schedule isn't a whole lot greater than Baylor's. And by hook or by crook, Baylor won that game.
- As far as some predictions, here are some to chew on for this week: First off, Oregon won't lose to Arizona again. Oregon is hot, healthy and peaking and Arizona will have their full attention after losing the first time.
On Georgia Tech/FSU, I think the Noles win another close one but they better buckle up. Georgia Tech is another team that's peaking right at the end of the season and with their triple option they have the capability of keeping Jameis on the sidelines. This is as good an opportunity as Paul Johnson's team will have against an elite team like FSU so they will come out flying and confident, or they should anyways after beating UGA.
Wisconsin should take care of Ohio State, not just because of the third string QB deal but because Ohio State has trouble stopping the run and Gordon is the best back in the country. Too tough to ask Ohio State to win that one with all the factors working against them.
- Texans beat Tennessee to get to 6-6 and JJ Watt scores ANOTHER touchdown. Can we get him to play quarterback, by chance? Yeah I know Fitz had a great game but it was against Tennessee for Pete's sake.
Team better not go to sleep in Jacksonville by the way, who just beat the Giants this last week.
- Big game of the NFL this week is obviously Eagles/Seahawks, with both teams playing very well. I do think that Seattle, as I figured they would at some point, is starting to look more and more like the defending champions. That win in San Francisco last Thursday night was enormous.
- Finally, on the Nebraska situation, my thought is that situation is a damned if you do and a damned if you don't deal. Pelini was winning his games at a .700 clip, so it seems ridiculous on the surface and a damned if you do situation. But then again, it's a damned if you don't situation when you consider this was a coach who constantly got humiliated in big games (by 30 to 40 points) and constantly embarrassed himself on the sidelines like he did in that Badger game.
It would be different if he had made changes to his coaching staff, but it's year 7 and he never did.
My final thought on that situation is this: National championships don't grow on trees and it's a tough sell to think Nebraska can be a national championship contender in the future especially with the way the game is now. Not everyone can be Alabama, or FSU, or Oregon, or Ohio State. But it's not too much to ask to win a conference championship once in a while and not get embarrassed in games that matter. I understand the anger and the frustration from players and former players as Pelini was very close with the players. But they need to understand that programs such as this one absolutely cannot get embarrassed constantly in big games. One last parting thought: Eichorst did the right thing in pulling the trigger but the announcement on the next coach needs to come quickly.
Until next time....
- I saw the new College Football Playoff rankings and all I can say is this: Regardless of what TCU does this weekend, if Baylor beats K-State (a top 10 team, by the way) then Baylor should be ahead of them in the final playoff rankings, period end of story. In my world, head-to-head victories should still count for something. Bottom line is this: Teams might finish with the same conference record, same overall record, virtually the same rankings wise and TCU's schedule isn't a whole lot greater than Baylor's. And by hook or by crook, Baylor won that game.
- As far as some predictions, here are some to chew on for this week: First off, Oregon won't lose to Arizona again. Oregon is hot, healthy and peaking and Arizona will have their full attention after losing the first time.
On Georgia Tech/FSU, I think the Noles win another close one but they better buckle up. Georgia Tech is another team that's peaking right at the end of the season and with their triple option they have the capability of keeping Jameis on the sidelines. This is as good an opportunity as Paul Johnson's team will have against an elite team like FSU so they will come out flying and confident, or they should anyways after beating UGA.
Wisconsin should take care of Ohio State, not just because of the third string QB deal but because Ohio State has trouble stopping the run and Gordon is the best back in the country. Too tough to ask Ohio State to win that one with all the factors working against them.
- Texans beat Tennessee to get to 6-6 and JJ Watt scores ANOTHER touchdown. Can we get him to play quarterback, by chance? Yeah I know Fitz had a great game but it was against Tennessee for Pete's sake.
Team better not go to sleep in Jacksonville by the way, who just beat the Giants this last week.
- Big game of the NFL this week is obviously Eagles/Seahawks, with both teams playing very well. I do think that Seattle, as I figured they would at some point, is starting to look more and more like the defending champions. That win in San Francisco last Thursday night was enormous.
- Finally, on the Nebraska situation, my thought is that situation is a damned if you do and a damned if you don't deal. Pelini was winning his games at a .700 clip, so it seems ridiculous on the surface and a damned if you do situation. But then again, it's a damned if you don't situation when you consider this was a coach who constantly got humiliated in big games (by 30 to 40 points) and constantly embarrassed himself on the sidelines like he did in that Badger game.
It would be different if he had made changes to his coaching staff, but it's year 7 and he never did.
My final thought on that situation is this: National championships don't grow on trees and it's a tough sell to think Nebraska can be a national championship contender in the future especially with the way the game is now. Not everyone can be Alabama, or FSU, or Oregon, or Ohio State. But it's not too much to ask to win a conference championship once in a while and not get embarrassed in games that matter. I understand the anger and the frustration from players and former players as Pelini was very close with the players. But they need to understand that programs such as this one absolutely cannot get embarrassed constantly in big games. One last parting thought: Eichorst did the right thing in pulling the trigger but the announcement on the next coach needs to come quickly.
Until next time....
Monday, November 3, 2014
Football + World Series Aftermath
Back with a few thoughts after another week of football + the finish of the World Series, and the start of the offseason for baseball:
Leading off, so to speak with the finish of the World Series. Props to the Giants for finishing things off; the better team did win that series and Bumgarner is an October legend amongst mortals. Two wins, plus a five inning save for the first win by a road team in a World Series game 7 in over three decades. Of course, knowing the Giants, this is an every other year thing so we'll probably see them again in 2016.
As far as the Royals are concerned, it would have been a storybook ending to win that seventh game, but honestly, the better team won the series. I do think there may have been a thing or two that could have been done differently (namely, not having Escobar bunt in the fifth inning plus they could have used Willingham at some point), but bottom line is after the fifth inning, they weren't hitting Bum.
I did see that the Royals declined the 12.5M option on Billy "Country Breakfast" Butler. I would blame them for not picking up the option, but I really can't. I honestly watch Butler and he's a good hitter, but I'm not sure he commands that much money on the market. He is mainly a DH and nothing more than that. The Royals do however need to get James Shields signed, he is arguably the heart and soul of that team.
As far as a super-early prediction for 2015, my gut hunch is that the Cardinals are a good bet to at least make the World Series next year. Much like the Giants go to the World Series or win every other year (they've won every time), the Cards at least go every odd numbered year. Plus they have a lot of salary cap space to spend on signing their players, plus picking up a major free agent.
On to football. First order of business, Auburn/Ole Miss; as far as that game goes, I felt really bad for Ole Miss fans when that Auburn/Ole Miss game ended on Saturday night. If my team lost a 35-31 game to a team on the level of Auburn, at home, and my team lost Ameer Abdullah to that type of injury on the deciding play at the goal line that lost the game, I would be crushed. I have nothing against Auburn, after all, Ameer grew up an Auburn fan in Birmingham and I like Gus Malzahn, but I still felt really bad for Ole Miss Saturday night.
Speaking of #8 on Nebraska, talk about a huge scare on Saturday and a collective fanbase holding its breath, that was Nebraska fans as the team had to deal without Ameer against a scrappy Purdue outfit. 35-14 win, but obviously the bye week could not come at a better time for the Big Red. A good time to get rested up and ready to go for the stretch run because starting when we go to Madison, every game is important.
On the Texans, not a new revelation but Fitzpatrick still sucks. He sucked at the beginning of the season and he sucks now. You can tell that Andre Johnson is frustrated; he spoke with the media Monday and insinuated he wanted to get as far away from here as possible during the bye week. I am glad that Andre has voiced his support for Ryan Mallett, at least according to Ian Rapoport. We need to get Mallett in there and see what he can do.
The worst part about that game is that we made Jets castoff Mark Sanchez look like a really good quarterback. The fact that Clowney isn't playing regularly isn't exactly helping matters on the defensive front.
On Broncos/Patriots, I have said this all along; if Gronk is healthy, they're a Super Bowl team period because you can't stop their offense with him in there. The problem is, he's not always there, but when he is they are near unstoppable offensively. Sorry, Broncos fans, but if Gronkowski is healthy I don't see anything keeping the Patriots out of Phoenix for the Super Bowl.
Watch for the Saints to be 7-4 after the next three weeks with a struggling Niners team, the Bengals and the struggling Ravens in the next three. The big key here is, all of them come to New Orleans. The Saints might well be ready to make a playoff push.
Once 6-1, the Dallas Cowboys are now 6-3 and facing serious issues; namely, that their offensive line that I've been touting all year has been springing leaks and the obvious one, that Tony Romo has back issues and will be out until at least after the bye. Dallas faces a very important game Sunday against Jacksonville to at least get to the bye at 7-3.
Hard to figure out what's going on with the Niners and Chargers; the first one has been to three straight conference championship games and a Super Bowl yet sits 4-4 and going to New Orleans, and the other one has lost three straight and got blasted 37-0 by the Dolphins.
One last NFL note; the only division in the National Football League with every single team above .500 is...
the AFC North.
On the college football playoff poll, one thing I notice is that for the most part, one loss teams are ahead of two loss teams. That is fine, as long as the committee sticks with that. If you're going to establish that precedence, fine, but stick with it.
Until next time....
Leading off, so to speak with the finish of the World Series. Props to the Giants for finishing things off; the better team did win that series and Bumgarner is an October legend amongst mortals. Two wins, plus a five inning save for the first win by a road team in a World Series game 7 in over three decades. Of course, knowing the Giants, this is an every other year thing so we'll probably see them again in 2016.
As far as the Royals are concerned, it would have been a storybook ending to win that seventh game, but honestly, the better team won the series. I do think there may have been a thing or two that could have been done differently (namely, not having Escobar bunt in the fifth inning plus they could have used Willingham at some point), but bottom line is after the fifth inning, they weren't hitting Bum.
I did see that the Royals declined the 12.5M option on Billy "Country Breakfast" Butler. I would blame them for not picking up the option, but I really can't. I honestly watch Butler and he's a good hitter, but I'm not sure he commands that much money on the market. He is mainly a DH and nothing more than that. The Royals do however need to get James Shields signed, he is arguably the heart and soul of that team.
As far as a super-early prediction for 2015, my gut hunch is that the Cardinals are a good bet to at least make the World Series next year. Much like the Giants go to the World Series or win every other year (they've won every time), the Cards at least go every odd numbered year. Plus they have a lot of salary cap space to spend on signing their players, plus picking up a major free agent.
On to football. First order of business, Auburn/Ole Miss; as far as that game goes, I felt really bad for Ole Miss fans when that Auburn/Ole Miss game ended on Saturday night. If my team lost a 35-31 game to a team on the level of Auburn, at home, and my team lost Ameer Abdullah to that type of injury on the deciding play at the goal line that lost the game, I would be crushed. I have nothing against Auburn, after all, Ameer grew up an Auburn fan in Birmingham and I like Gus Malzahn, but I still felt really bad for Ole Miss Saturday night.
Speaking of #8 on Nebraska, talk about a huge scare on Saturday and a collective fanbase holding its breath, that was Nebraska fans as the team had to deal without Ameer against a scrappy Purdue outfit. 35-14 win, but obviously the bye week could not come at a better time for the Big Red. A good time to get rested up and ready to go for the stretch run because starting when we go to Madison, every game is important.
On the Texans, not a new revelation but Fitzpatrick still sucks. He sucked at the beginning of the season and he sucks now. You can tell that Andre Johnson is frustrated; he spoke with the media Monday and insinuated he wanted to get as far away from here as possible during the bye week. I am glad that Andre has voiced his support for Ryan Mallett, at least according to Ian Rapoport. We need to get Mallett in there and see what he can do.
The worst part about that game is that we made Jets castoff Mark Sanchez look like a really good quarterback. The fact that Clowney isn't playing regularly isn't exactly helping matters on the defensive front.
On Broncos/Patriots, I have said this all along; if Gronk is healthy, they're a Super Bowl team period because you can't stop their offense with him in there. The problem is, he's not always there, but when he is they are near unstoppable offensively. Sorry, Broncos fans, but if Gronkowski is healthy I don't see anything keeping the Patriots out of Phoenix for the Super Bowl.
Watch for the Saints to be 7-4 after the next three weeks with a struggling Niners team, the Bengals and the struggling Ravens in the next three. The big key here is, all of them come to New Orleans. The Saints might well be ready to make a playoff push.
Once 6-1, the Dallas Cowboys are now 6-3 and facing serious issues; namely, that their offensive line that I've been touting all year has been springing leaks and the obvious one, that Tony Romo has back issues and will be out until at least after the bye. Dallas faces a very important game Sunday against Jacksonville to at least get to the bye at 7-3.
Hard to figure out what's going on with the Niners and Chargers; the first one has been to three straight conference championship games and a Super Bowl yet sits 4-4 and going to New Orleans, and the other one has lost three straight and got blasted 37-0 by the Dolphins.
One last NFL note; the only division in the National Football League with every single team above .500 is...
the AFC North.
On the college football playoff poll, one thing I notice is that for the most part, one loss teams are ahead of two loss teams. That is fine, as long as the committee sticks with that. If you're going to establish that precedence, fine, but stick with it.
Until next time....
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