Monday, November 2, 2009

The Day After Yesterday...

Couple of things I think about yesterday's NFL games....

1. Derek Anderson is awful. In his last three games he is 19 for 53. Can you bench him though? I mean, is Brady Quinn any better? What about Eric Mangini? That guy isn't much better as a coach. The Browns are a mess, and I feel bad for them because they have a great loyal fan base.

2. Is Chicago any good? Maybe they are. Maybe they just haven't hit their stride yet. I'll say one thing. They confuse the mess out of me.

3. Watch out, but all of a sudden Dallas is right in the thick of things. They took care of Seattle yesterday, and are on a three game win streak. QB Tony Romo is playing the best football of his career, three straight games with 8 TD's and 0 INT's. HUGE matchup this week for Sunday Night Football: Dallas vs. Philadelphia. Gonna be a good one.

4. Arizona. Good? Bad? Who knows? They beat the Giants in convincing manner last week then got whooped up by the Carolina Panthers yesterday. The NFC West is about as bad as it gets.

5. Speaking of the New York Football Giants. They were 5-0, running away with the division, and looking better then their Super Bowl Championship year of 2007...three weeks ago. Now, they look average. Is Brandon Jacobs still on the team? Oh, thats right, he got paid. This team needs to do some soul searching or something or they are going to be a very overrated and underachieving team.

6. Brett Favre...there I said it.

7. Baltimore and Denver was the most intriguing match-up of yesterday's games. I was very curious how these two teams would play each other based on Baltimore's recent slide and Denver's surprisngly great start...turns out, it wasn't much of a game. Baltimore smoked Denver.

8. Better watch out for Miami, they could do a little something this year. Beat the Jets twice, and are now on a roll. Be interesting to see what they can do with a tough slate of games coming up.

9. The Colts, are in my opinion, the best team in football. I know, I know, the Saints are great, but I think the Colts are better. They won yesterday and they weren't supposed to. Going through some adversity is good for a team, and they went through adversity and still won. Very dangerous.

10. Tonight's game...Saints 30 Falcons 20.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Conversation Starters

1. Game five of the ALCS could be the turning point in the series between the Yankees and Angels. It was an instant classic, and could be the kinda game that gives the Angels some momentum...of course they will have to win the last two in the Bronx.

2. A Yankees vs. Phillies World Series is good for fans that are fans of those teams. No one else. I hate in order these three cities sports: 1. Boston 2. New York 3. Philadelphia, so for me a Yankees Phils World Series will be almost as bad as the Yankees vs Marlins World Series from 2003.

3. ESPN's College Gameday could be the best pre-game show of all sports. The set up is brilliant. The way they go to a college campus every week with the fans and clever signs behind them is great. Lee Corso is a little bit too much but overall I love watching that show on Saturday mornings.

4. Who is the best running back in college football? Alambama's Mark Ingram. No question.

5.Who is the worst team in the NFL? Does it matter? The bottom five teams are some of the worst teams the NFL has ever put together.

6. It still boggles my mind that Tampa Bay didn't spend more in free agency. The team is so bad I can't help but wonder that fans are thinking the same thing. They had so much room under the cap, they could've bought probably 3 of the top 5 guys in free agency...including Albert Haynesworth (although it's probable a good thing now, the guy plays half of the time).

7. I heart Jim Zorn

8. I'm tired of hearing that this weeks Minnesota vs. Pittsburgh game is a "possible Super Bowl Match-up." No it is not. One, Pittsburgh does not have the same swagger they did last year. Their defense doesn't have the same presence. They really too much on Big Ben to carry them, which I'm not convinced is a good idea yet. Two, Minnesota has a 40 year old at QB. I know Brett Favre is playing great right now, but does he really have what it takes to play an entire regular season and then three to four extra games in the playoffs? He couldn't even do it last year. So even though I think it will be a good game this week, I'm not buying the Super Bowl hype.

9. For what it's worth, my pre-season prediction of Super Bowl participants was either Giants vs. Colts or Giants vs. Patriots...I don't remember, but regardless if it's Giants vs. Pats that means that once again we will have two of the top three cities of sporting teams I hate.

10. November 1 will be a day when all professional sports will be played. How cool is that? NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, and a few others. I read an article about it. I think it's a good thing.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Various NFL Storylines

Alright, so here is an in depth look at some intriguing storylines for this week's NFL games. If I miss any feel free to comment on them.

San Diego vs. Kansas City- Any division game is worth a mention. This AFC West matchup puts the highly overrated and underachieving San Diego Chargers against the Kansas City Chiefs, who are coming off their first win of the season. Hard to believe, but I think Kansas City has a chance to put two wins in a row together. San Diego is falling apart before our very eyes, and it's a pretty much gurantee that next season' team will look very, very different from this years team. Those changes probable include a new coaching staff, a defense without Shawn Merriman (who seems to have worn out his welcome), and maybe a Ladanian Tomlinson-less backfield. This could be the "straw that breaks the camel's back" game for the Chargers.

Minnesota vs. Pittsburgh- Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, got his job from the tremendous job he did while coaching the defense in Minnesota a few years ago. It will be interesting to see how the Steelers offense operates against the stingy Vikings D, seeing as how some if not most of the personell on the defense are the same as when Tomlin was there.

New York Jets vs. Oakland- The Raiders' Richard Seymour promised this week that the Raiders would make the playoffs...this year! After beating Philadelphia last week following New York Giants LB Antonio Pierce's comments that playing the Raiders was like a "scrimmage" is it possible we are now seeing inspired play by Oakland? The Jets are struggling. Rookie QB Mark Sanchez, even though he started 3-0, has not put up impressive numbers (especially last week...he gave credit to Buffalo for catching HIS passes!!!), so maybe this is the perfect opportunity for New York to get back on track...then agains maybe it's the perfect time for Oakland to put a winning streak together and make some noise in the AFC.

Chicago vs. Cinncinnatti- Cedric Benson. Fourth overall pick by the Bears in 2006, then ran out of town three years later, he is running with avengence this year. You can bet he circled this game on his calendar when the schedule came out. He says he does not have any ill will towards the team, but c'mon...they never gave him a fair shot and his tenure there was rocky to say the least. I'm looking forward to seeing how he looks with the ball in his hands.

Philadelphia vs. Washington- This MNF match-up is good on paper because it is an NFC East game. Those games are almost always good. The Redskins are literally on their last breath. The Eagles are coming off an unfathomable loss to the Raiders. Both teams are fighting for something different, but with the same goal: Beating a hated divisional rival. This game could be closer then most expect.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Intriguing Story Line

I really want to go more in depth on this and try to make it weekly thing, but I have class in a few minutes so I thought I would just give you a quick teaser. Since reading into story lines is fun (but pretty un-useful) I thought I would go through this week's NFL games and present things to watch...

1. Cinncinnatti Bengals RB Cedric Benson, who has been playing lights out all season, is going against the team that drafted fourth overall in 2006 then drove him out of town 3 years later, the Chicago Bears. Added motivation? I think so...

I'll do a longer article tommmorow on different story lines to look at.
Also, another thing I would like to start doing is every Monday or Tuesday have a good look back at the games played the precvious Sunday. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

My Top 25 College Football Poll

I have decided to do my own ranking. I don't look at huge legendary upsets or records. I'm looking at what teams I think are the very best in the country. Just because USC loses to a horrible team every year, doesn't mean they aren't one of the best in the country. Unfortunately, I can't put Oklahoma too high up anymore because of Sam Bradford's injury, but I wish I would. So without further ado...
1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. USC
5. LSU
6. Boise State
7. Penn State
8. Georgia Tech
9. Iowa
10. Ohio State
11. Miami (FL)
12. Cinncinnatti
13. TCU
14. Oregon
15. Virginia Tech
16. Oklahoma State
17. Oklahoma
18. BYU
19. Notre Dame
20. West Virginia
21. Pittsburgh
22. Texas Tech
23. South Carolina
24. Kansas
25.Utah
I really don't understand why there is a top 25. There should really only be a top 10. Do teams 11-25 really matter? And, can we PLEASE get a playoff system?
Feel free to comment on your thoughts about my top-25.
What are the Patriots up to? Lots of roster changes...a trade maybe? Shawn Merriman? Steven Jackson?

Monday, October 19, 2009

One Sentence Reactions...NFL

Minnesota 33 Baltimore 31- Wow, that was fun!
New Orleans 48 New York Giants 27- Drew Brees for MVP.
Pittsburgh 21 Cleveland 14- I am not impressed with the Super Bowl Champions and how flat they look.
Houston 28 Cinncinnatti 17- To be a truly great team you can not play down to your competition, Cincy.
Green Bay 26 Detroit 0- Pretty much what I expected
Carolina 28 Tampa Bay 21- Close only counts in hand grenades and horse shoes.
Kansas City 14 Washington 6- How many times can a team hit rock bottom?
Jacksonville 23 St. Louis 20- Did anyone watch or care about this game?
Oakland 13 Philadelphia 9- The upset special, there is no way anyone in America picked this game.
Arizona 27 Seattle 3- In the NFC West it's hard to tell which team will show up on any given Sunday.
New England 59 Tennessee 0- Uh-oh, they're back.
Buffalo 16 New York Jets 13- Mark Sanchez might have hurt his shoulder from falling back down to earth.
Atlanta 21 Chicago 14- Huge game in the NFC playoff situation delivers with good ol' fashion football.