After a long weekend where I didn't really have access to a computer, I'm back with a bunch of random thoughts on yesterday's NFL results, plus BCS analysis, college hoops, NBA, MLB Hot Stove and more:
(1) Ravens shut out defending champs: I'm not sure whether
(2) Tomlinson for MVP: After his 3-TD game yesterday (2 rush, 1 pass), LaDainian Tomlinson has created a situation where everyone else is playing for 2nd place in the NFL MVP race. (LT needs 5 TDs in 5 games to break Shaun Alexander's single-season TD record. That didn't take long. He might do it in 2 weeks. In 5 games, he might seat an unbreakable standard.)
(3) Giant collapse: I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like the Giants' 21-point 4th-quarter collapse. But I do know that Vince Young put on a show worth vaulting him into the Rookie of the Year race.
(Speaking of Rookie of the Year, does Redskins QB Jason Campbell count? It's not like he had ever played before last week. And this week, he's leading the Skins to a win, improbably calling his own game-winning play when his helment radio fizzled out.)
(4) Bears lose to Pats: Is it time for the Bears to bench Rex Grossman?
(5) Vick's flick (-off): The image of the week was of Michael Vick flipping off (with TWO hands!) the boo birds in
Star of the Week: Drew Brees.
Comments Question: What were your biggest developments of the NFL week?
More on today's top storylines:
BCS Mania: Isn't it refreshing to have some clarity? If USC beats UCLA next week, it's USC vs.
(If USC loses, the title game appears to be OSU vs.
But when USC beats UCLA (as they inevitably will), the BCS will beat back a controversy this season.
CFB Coaches: Bring me the head of... The last game of the regular season means holiday shopping and the annual firing of head coaches.
Right up until Alabama fired Mike Shula. Perhaps Steve Spurrier and Greg Schiano weren't interested in the
(More: NC State fired Chuck Amato. Could Norm Chow be the next head coach? Sounds more wishful thinking than reality. And
College Hoops: I'd prefer to accept
Who's CBB No. 1? Speaking of doomed, just try to figure out who really deserves to be No. 1 in the polls this week.
NBA: Spurs are road warriors. The Spurs are only the fourth team in 10 years to start 7-0 on the road. Meanwhile, the Nuggets have claimed the title of NBA's Most Entertaining Team from the Suns. Carmelo went over 30 points... again. Scoring title in his future?
MLB: Matsuzaka, Red Sox far apart. Who didn't see THAT coming? The Sox want to pay $7-8M;
More MLB: Giants targeting Manny? The most awesome upshot of Ramirez going to
-- D.S.
Posts
59 comments:
I got bruises just watching the Ravens pummel Big Ben. I actually felt sorry for him near the end. I think McNair is finally comfortable in the offense and the defense is peaking. It's time to put them up there with the Colts, Bears and Chargers (who the Ravens beat and have the tie-breaker for home-field over).
Who cares about basketball polls? We've got March to sort everything out.
Mark my words...OSU beats USC by 28 in the biggest BCS mistake ever!
brave sir robin is right. Preseason polls in college basketball are meaningless. Everything is decided on the court in march...unlike some other college sport. Unfortunately I had to listen to Dick Vitale constantly shouting about that very fact during the KU-FL game.
And I don't want to hear the SEC whining about Florida not playing for the national title. The SEC is all but assured of getting 2 teams into the BCS considering where LSU is ranked. And in a sport where everything is decided by money, they're getting theirs.
Dan...I know you are behind on the posts but I was so excited for you to bash Notre Dame. Come on! I'll help you out.
Notre Dame is by far the most overrated college football team year in and year out. It is so embarrassing how they constantly get the love from the polls. I swear, if they are in the top 10 preseason next year, I will kill someone. They lose practically every offensive starter except Darius Walker. And don't give me this shit about Jimmy Claussen. He is more overrated than his brother.
Bottom line...Charlie Weis has never and will never win the big games. He is a fat sack of shit.
of course my favorite part of football yesterday was the Ravens shut out. i understand that the steelers aren't exactly firing on all cylinders right now... but they're still the defending super bowl champs AND anyone who has ever been to a Ravens/Steelers game knows the records of either team going in don't matter. its always a playoff atmosphere. but i digress... oh and does anyone else think maybe Bill Cowher was actually PUNISHING Ben by keeping him in at the end? :) (please note my sarcasm.)
i do have to say my other favorite part of the day was in the Pats/Bears games when Brady scrambled for that first down himself in the fourth quarter. It was a nice play and he was ten kinds of psyched up after it. Its good to see him like that.
um, NY Giants? Wtf?
No, the Bears should not bench Grossman. While delayed, he's still going through NFL growing pains and the fact of the matter is we're 11 games into the season and the Bears just lost their first road game. I think most teams would take that.
I would love for Florida to sneak into the Championship game...OSU would treat them like Florida Atlantic.
If Ohio State (basketball) beats UNC this week, they are the best team in CBB. WITHOUT Oden! They'd be unstoppable with Oden in there.
I'm surprised at how revitalized the Ravens D is.
And I'm still hoping the Red Sox are swallowed up by the earth sometime soon. Most annoying MLB team ever. At least the Yankees win!
Why is it such a big deal about Vick flipping the bird? He was walking into the tunnel and Joe Buck's postgame show is usually on. Plus I'm sure those that are too young in the stands to see something like that hear much worse.
More about the awful Giants...could the Jets end the season with a better record? It's starting to look like that could happen.
Ohio State is going to be #1 in football and basketball. Good times for Buckeye fans. Florida won't even win the SEC. Alabama will win the conference.
Gator football is ugly. I'd rather see the rematch with Michigan than see Florida....if USC loses next weekend.
If the Sox got Bonds they would have the best 2 DH's in MLB.
Boston will never go after Bonds. If they're shopping Manny for being a cancer, they certainly won't be replacing him with a larger tumor.
Boston media would shred him, fans would do worse. Bad idea.
Imagine Curt and him on the same field? Would they even speak?
Unfortunately for Vick, he flipped the birds two yards in front of the receiver.
Hey YO!
I know no one in their right mind would watch a Browns game if they're not from the area, but how about Chad Johnson tripping over the first down chain?
Did Lovie Smith forget to tell Grossman that Asante Samual doesn't play for the Bears?
brave sir -- there were a lot of people in baltimore with one eye on that game... and yeah, that trip over the chain was pretty funny.
When Grossman is good, he is very very good. When Grossman is bad, he is very very bad.
No middle ground makes it frustrating for Bears fans.
SF:
The biggest mistake would still be BIG 12 getting a team in the title game after losing it's own conference championship.
I think USC win against UCLA and loses a close game to Ohio State.
biebs- yeah, Nebraska had no business being in that game against Miami, and they showed it by getting their asses handed to them.
ndyanksfan05:
You are the reason people HATE Notre Dame fans. You are so unrealistic it's pathetic. Name the big games Charlie Weis has won? No, it's ok. I'll wait. Notre Dame fans always think their schedule is so superior. It's not. You played all 3 military services, Stanfor, and UNC. That's pathetic. Next year you play Duke. This isn't basketball! The fact of the matter is that high school kids don't give a shit about "tradition." They want to go where it is warm, where the girls are, and where they can go to the NFL. Yes, ND sends players to the NFL...but they don't send position players to the NFL (Brady and Smafrkjdfljafljd will go high this year and deservedly so). But if I was a HS senior, would I go to dreary South Bend, Indiana or sunny California/Florida? It's a no brainer. Everyone talks about Notre Dame's National Championships and Heisman trophies. Besides 1988, they won all of them before 1977 (and most in the 1920s). I really want to see ND play Florida in the bowl games. Actually, I want to see them play against Boise State because I think the score will be 50-49.
As for the game on Saturday, I DID watch it and I saw a Notre Dame team who couldn't win despite forcing 3 turnovers. Their defense is terrible and their offense is 1 dimensional. Their cupcake schedule cameback and bit them in the ass.
Don't get me wrong, I think Brady Quinn will be a very good NFL quarterback and he proved this year that he is one tough son of a bitch...but in all honesty, USC, Florida, Michigan, OSU, etc. all just have better athletes that surround their QBs that make them more glamorous and successful.
RevScottDeMangeMD said...
Notre Dame is by far the most overrated college football team year in and year out.
yes Notre Dame started at #2 and ended up 10th, that is soooo much worse than say Miami starting at 12th and ending up 6-6.... (rolling eyes)
The thing about recruiting is that every magazine and expert says something different. I've seen ND ranked #1 and I've seen them ranked #10. It all depends on value. My friends who are die hard ND fans think that Frazier (first name escaping me) will end up being better than Claussen. Does that remind anyone of another program?
Ohio State...golden boy Zwick came in with the hype, Smith leaves with a Heisman. Look for that to happen at ND.
Even the Browns gave the Ravens a game (granted it was weeks ago and McNair is def. getting a handle on the Ravens' "O") I feel bad for Ben...NINE sacks!? Ouch. He'll still be sore Wednesday.
Ohio State Basketball should DEFINITELY be #1 if they beat NC Wednesday. I was in North Carolina for the holiday, and there were a lot of articles anticipating this game. It should be a good one!
Is Weis the new King of February (ala Mack Brown prior to last year)?
Great recruiting, with no hardware to show for it.
ND needs to drop it's traditional "rivalries" with the service academies (or at least not play all of them every year). It's not a rivalry when the other team never wins.
Barry Bonds won't end up in Boston. (Right field is too deep to ensure lots of dingers, anyways.)
Clemens, maybe. (ha!)
That #21 is still available in Boston. Although I was a bit surprised to see Testaverde wearing Steve Grogan's old #14. I think he's the first guy to wear that number in a while for the Pats.
Is "screw the pooch" the new "crap the bed"?
I think the new FieldTurf in Foxboro looked okay, but it looked like Troy Brown 's foot got stuck when he went to jump for the ball he ended up tipping into an interception.
The Giants game was a car wreck, especially when you're 9-3 on the week and taking the Giants with the points. At least they had the dignity to lose outright at that point.
I wonder how Sylvester Croom feels about Shula being out in 'Bama.....
And is there anything worse than Dick Vitale's Monday morning rant on ESPN Radio? Aside from that if I switch stations, it comes on right before WEEI in Providence decides to do their 15-minute news block right after?
Here's what I miss.....being able to watch highlights at 7:45 of Tom Jackson telling the Falcons to "Knock it down!" at the end of the first half. May I assume he pointed that out around midnight last night?
The BCS system has a ranking for teams 1-36. If the favorites win next Sat., here is how things will play out:
Team A: will have played 5 teams in the top 36, beating #5, #9, #16 and #28; lost to #11
Team B: will have played 5 teams in the top 36, beating #9, #10, #18 and #20; lost to #24
Team C: will have played 4 teams in the top 36, beating #7, #10 and #26; lost to #1
By the way, our "juggernaut, no question, #1 with a bullet"(sarcasm) Ohio State beat #3, #19 and #26.
So who deserves to go to the BCS title game? To say that if USC beats UCLA this weekend then the BCS avoids controversy is ridiculous, and further illustrates the need for a playoff.
To all you "plus one" proponents: that doesn't solve anything, especially if Ohio State wins their game(i.e. why should they play a one loss team after their game? and if they lose that plus one game, do they not have only one loss, just like the team that beat them?)
Team A: Florida
Team B: USC
Team C: Michigan
I never said ND was shitty at recruiting. The BETTER players are going to USC/Florida (sunny, hot girls) and Ohio State (NFL top 10 picks).
Dan,
Actually, UNC lost to Gonzaga in the NIT not Butler (Tennessee lost to Butler).
Don't forget that Notre Dame also has some semblance of academic requirements as well.
Notre Dame was overrated this year no doubt. They were building off the success the program had last year. Remember that last year everyone was touting how hard that schedule was? Michigan ends up being average and Pitt looks awful and suddenly that schedule wasn't so good. That's how these things are. They play the service academies...so what? Better than playing a 1-AA crapper.
To compare schedule you have to look at non-conference schedules. You can't compare conference to conference because those teams don't have a choice and are unbalanced. (think Wisconsin is 11-1 if Ohio State is on the schedule?) Problem is that very rarely do big time programs want to schedule tough non-conference games, heaven forbid a ROAD game. That's why I'll give the nod to Ohio State and USC... at least they went out and scheduled a road game against a major conference team. Florida gets some credit as well for Florida St. USC played a great non-conference schedule and should be rewarded for it. They went out and scheduled big name teams, not 1-AA's.
I've said it before and I'll still say it now. NOw that there are 12 games in a season leading to 4 (or 5) non-conference games...teams should be forced to schedule 2 road games. And I'd love to see conference vs conference challenges.
I might be the only die-hard Pitt basketball fan that reads this blog, but I have to speak for all Pitt fans when I say that I welcome Shanoff dismissing us.
We have essentially 9 guys that could start for us. You dismiss Aaron Gray (and all of his double doubles), which is fine, we're coming at you in waves.
We beat an FSU team predicted to finish 5th in the ACC and make the Dance by 22 (and we were up 37 in the second before calling off the dogs).
Keep dismissing us. Go ahead and rank OSU #1. Or UCLA.
Like it or not ShittyTeamsFan05, bowl games do count. After Notre Dame gets pounded in their bowl, Weis's coaching record will be 19-6 (if you're numbers are right, I'm not bothering to look them up), with two bowl losses and two losses to USC, the only legitimate rival ND has anymore.
Tressel: 21-5 in the first two years, 2 Michigan victories and 2 Bowl victories (I think anyway), plus a national championship. UNlike ND, OSU actually beats top ten teams under Tressel.
Also, ND was never in that game against USC. It wouldn't have been that close of USC's quarterback hadn't decided that he was the second coming of Steve Bellasari near the end of the first half. Also, USC decided to let Quinn turn into Michael Vick on that one run. I mean, that's all part of the game, but ND was only in it (if getting blown out by 20 is in it) because USC was making mistakes.
I think Michigan qualifies as a legitimate rival for Notre Dame. Notre Dame is 1-1 against them. Notre Dame would also be 1-1 against USC if the officials had correctly penalized USC for an illegal push by Reggie Bush, but hey why enforce the rules?
Peter King is certainly no college football expert. He is probably as unbiased a source as you can get. Here's what he had to say about the SC-Irish game:
"I have never heard television analysts gush so endlessly over a team on the way to a 20-point loss as Bob Davie and Kirk Herbstreit did with Notre Dame the other night."
You know you're in trouble when you're defending a team's performance with "Well, the score wasn't as bad as it seemed because they allowed a the other team to return an onside kick for a touchdown."
That just proves your team sucks
Also, in regards to the Reggie Bush push, I'm not sure what the rule is (I know that what he did was supposedly against it), but why are offensive lineman allowed to always jump on a pile to push it forward everywhere else on the field? If that's legal, Bush's push should be to. If it's not, well, time to call a penalty on about 60% of all rushes up the middle.
Seau's Arm
I can't believe they didn't see the replay. That thing was flopping around like Theismann's leg.
I think Joe Buck gagged on the air.
When ND has played the top teams in the last couple of years, they were getting BLOWN OUT.
And it doesn't help that the rest of their wins have come from NON-RANKED TEAMS! (besides Ga Tech who may join the non-ranked teams by season's end)
But I agree Quinn is one hell of a quarterback. Too bad he doesn't have much to work with.
Bullshit NDyanksfan!
The Ohio State game was a fucking blowout! Ohio State fumbled TWICE inside the 10 yard line AND missed 2 field goals. That's 20 points! That game was NEVER close last year. Everyone knew it...except Musberger who creamed his pants all night from Brady Quinn throwing "over the miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidle!!!!!!"
Notre Dame has been blown out by the good teams. Just admit it. They will get destroyed by USC and Michigan again next year. BC will beat them next year and then of course ND says they won't play them anymore. Instead, they want to play Duke.
You have to understand...it's never hatred toward Notre Dame. It's hatred towards their idiotic fanbase that is so blinded by National Championships that occurred when there were only 5 teams in college football.
Top 5 Worst Fans in all of sports
1.) Notre Dame
2.)Chicago Cubs
3.) Boston Red Sox
4.) New York Yankees
5.) Dallas Cowboys
yikes... a discussion of "worst fans in sports" never ends well for anyone.
Brave Sir Robin said...
Like it or not ShittyTeamsFan05
HAHAHA
That's funny (even though I kind of like ND)
No you idiot...they are fan bases of teams that are unrealistic.
Woaaaaaaah is meeeeeeee! Boo fucking who! Notre Dame will never compete with USC, Floriday, and OSU. The Red Sox will always be a step lower than the Yankees. The Cubs are embarrassing year in and year out. The Cowboys haven't been relevant in 10 years. The Yankees think their shit doesn't stink.
All of these fans ALWAYS think their teams are #1...even when they suck ass. Then when they don't win, they make up excuses, curses, blame the refs, and say "we ALMOST won." True fans say, "good year...let's try again next year." They also don't go into every season, spring training, and training camp thinking they should be rated #1 when in reality, they only get rated that high b/c of their name, payroll, or shitty division.
RevScottDeMangeMD,
I'd also add Duke fans to that list of worst fans.
If you're a Notre Dame fan and you don't think you're team is overrated you are an idiot. You might be great next year or the year after, but this year you suck. Face it. ND should be banned from the BCS until it joins a conference instead of getting its annual free pass.
As for the list of worst fans, I think I would replace Duke with the Cubs....really its been almost 100 years you have to feel a little bad for them.
To bum a line from the 80s version of Detroit's Bad Boys, if Michael Irvin was a white sportscaster, he'd have been immediately fired and forced to take sensitivity classes with Jesse Jackson for his comments.
Let the excuse making commence...
lol
You'd have to add Ohio State fans to that list too...
Woody Hayes is dead. Get over it.
Anyways...yeah, ND fan..can't defend the OSU vs ND game last year...that game was not close at any point.
The problem with ND is that it gets overhyped then can't perform against good teams. Weis hasn't changed that to this point. He may eventually, but not yet.
In any case, the national title game will feature the two best teams and the two best coaches in CFB. But I think OSU takes Jarrett out of the game and the offense pours it on.
Ohio State - 38
Southern Cal - 20
what did irvin say?
Irvin said that Romo "probably has a great great great great grandfather who is black and that is where he got his speed"
or something of that nature
ndyanksfan05 said...
The five worst fans because they are extremely passionate about their teams??(including the red sox, and I hate red sox fans, but they love their team). All those fan bases love their teams without prejudice and expect them to win
I think that's the first time I wholeheartedly agreed with a Yankee fan. Ever.
Go Sox.
I too agree with the yanks fan (scary...)
There is nothing wrong with being passionate about your team and expecting them to compete and win every year. I'll take that over indifference any day.
RevScottDeMangeMD: It was worse then - he probably has someone in his family that's black...
"there must be some brothers in Romo's background, because his great-great-great Grandma "ran over in the hood and something went down" or "pulled one of them studs up outta the barn."
That's the direct quote:
That's just downright insulting
"All of these fans ALWAYS think their teams are #1...even when they suck ass. Then when they don't win, they make up excuses, curses, blame the refs, and say "we ALMOST won."
- Speaking as a Cubs fan who lives in Chicago, I don't quite think anybody ever argues our team is #1 as you say. But the Cub nation is extremely loyal and should not be sorry that they continully root for and support their team. That is what a true fan does. ...but I guess we should just shut up and stay at home because our team sucks. Good startegy.
I don't think you can make enough of ESPN's double standard. Gregg Easterbrook got canned for something that _might_ have been vaguely insulting to jewish readers (suggesting 2 Hollywood jewish executives were greedy, without mentioning their race, btw).
Irvin's comment is much, much worse. This is actual racism and a dismissal of Romo's athletic ability merely because he's white. He couldn't have earned it? Irvin would be fired if the situation was reversed! Can you even imagine if Rush Limbaugh suggested McNabb must have white ancestry to be a good quarterback? CNN, ABC, CBS would be beating up on Rush for years.
This is just a continuation of the horrible racial double standard that has developed. I mean, really, it isn't Mayor Nagin's fault that people died in New Orleans, it must be Bush. It's not like National Geographic wrote specifically what was going to happen to New Orleans 6 months prior to the storm. You can't expect him to plan ahead, can you? You can't expect them to spend their own money, can you? So it has to be FEMA's fault.
I can't wait until Whitlock writes about this.
Cub fans are loyal to a fault...which is why the Tribune Co. has never spent the money to build a winner (until this year when they sell the team).
I think the biggest problem isn't the real ND fans, but the media ND fans (led by Beano Cook, the Notredame Broadcasting Company, et al). They all--including ND itself--seem to forget that ND hasn't been truly relevant to CFB in 10-15 years and the landscape of CFB has dramatically changed since then (with the BCS and conference championships, etc.)
I'm not sure in what order but the top 5 worst fans in sports are:
Yankees (obvious reasons), Cowboys (calling your team America's Team doesn't go over well), Duke B-ball (the word jerk comes to mind), Notre Dame (always think that the name gets you a ranking), Hockey (think that people care)
Interestingly enough, at this time USC shows up as #2 on my CFB Ladder Rankings. I wonder if that will continue to hold true after the conference championships are played out?
Hockey Rules.
I didn't know Easterbrook got canned. ESPN never seems to announce these things.
i'm surprised no one has brought up Philly fans yet....
I think the only thing that can make a city's fans "bad" is if they are unsportsmanlike, and annoying as rabid fans can be, its hard to make a case that an entire city's fan base is unsportsmanlike. But if its possible, Philly fans come pretty close.
When did Easterbrook get canned? No more TMQ??
I believe the incident about Easterbrook being referenced was a few years ago and was why he moved over to NFL.com. My guess is that ESPN must pay more because now Easterbrook is back at ESPN. Otherwise presumably he'd tell them to go to hell when they offered his job back.
Easterbrook got canned a couple of years ago - now he's back.
Whitlock already wrote about the Irvin thing last week, in his AOL Sports column.
And if I have to hear one more "if a white guy said" comment, I'm gonna scream. Let's not get into the whole "double standard" argument, ok? You can't possibly win that one. Should Irvin be fired? Yes, because he's an idiot, and he consistantly makes stupid comments, and he can't give an interview without fawning over his subjects, and he's not good at his job. End of story. Unfortunately, ESPN is in love with him for some reason...
No, Easterbrook was canned a couple years ago. ESPN sweeps everything under the rug... unless it's about another network or a sport they want to hype, or an issue they want to push, like a gay football player.
To their credit, ESPN brought him back after he worked on the NFL.com network.
Too bad he stopped being creative a couple years ago. I mean, really, he uses the same made-up names for the teams.
Olbermann and Patrick are so corrupt, they can't even speak out against this.
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