This week was an interesting week in the NFL and in sports in general. More often than not December is the deciding month for a ton of teams...last year and this year.
1) The AFC east is an interesting situation and I really look forward to watching the Jets and the Patriots losing to the Dolphins. Each team won their last game...Jets over the Bills (because the Bills are terrible and their play calling awful, JP Losman on a rollout is the worst decision ever), Patriots roll over a bad Raiders team and the Dolphins win against a dcent 49ers team. With the upcoming schedules it is going to be an interesting road...let's look at coming weeks
Miami -- at Kansas City and at the Jets
Jets -- at Seattle, Dolphins at home
Pats -- Arizona at home, at Buffalo
So if the Pats win out and the Dolphins win out...the Dolphins have the tiebreaker. To further this whole saga is the story of Chad Pennington and Brett Favre. Chad Pennington was booted out of the Jets' locker room for old number 4 and signed with Miami...a team that went 1-15 last year. Now the final game of the season is going to be Chad v. Brett for the whole division. Fun stuff
2) The Giants have locked up the NFC East while the Cardinals have the West. But the NFC is still a compelling story, including the Giants. The Giants who looked like the most solid team in the NFL and a lock to get back to the Super Bowl have stumbled for two weeks. Wade Phillips said that the team was more predictable without Plaxico Burress...but I think that it is not the absence of Plax but the absence of Brandon Jacobs. But they are not firing on all cylinders while the Cowboys look like they have figured somethings out. I am waiting for Cowboys v Ravens for the offense to falter and TO to blow up that locker room.
The Cowboys then have to play the Eagles which could decide the wild card for the NFC. As I said before the next two weeks are going to be fun to watch...it is like the playoffs already started.
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Football is not the only thing going on right now...I would like to talk about the NBA. I don't like the NBA and I don't usually watch, I think that college basketball is more pure and that kids trying to play basketball need to learn from college not the pros. Guys in the NBA are really talented and that they can play some great basketball but often the games come down to a one-on-one battle. Example, the Lakers are down 15 at half and Kobe decides to shoot every time down the floor in the second half. Some good defense would keep long runs from happeneing.
But something happened last night that should really be recognized...Chris Paul had a steal for the 105th game in a row. He plays against the Spurs next and has a good chance of passing Alvin Robertson to be alone in the record books.
Can't wait for Manu to lose the ball...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Lucky to be alive...
"You're going to get your quarterback killed..." that is what Terrell Suggs yelled to Jim Zorn during the Ravens/Redskins game on Sunday night. The Redskins started off 6-2 and everyone thought they were playoff bound and that Zornie really had something going. But after losing 4 of the last 5 they are struggling. Everyone is starting to see the faults in the Skins' game...they have terrible line play and thus a terrible team. The offensive line was so depleted last night that Zorn had to throw in inexperienced Justin Geisinger to play tackle. Geisinger is the back up center and has not played tackle since freshman year in college. As he entered the game, Suggs yelled his warning to Zorn and the Redskins' bench. Instead of helping Geisinger by adding a tight end to the line, the formation had him one-on-one with Suggs. The result of the play...a 13 yard loss on a sack by Suggs. The Skins are lucky that Campbell wasn't killed. The Skins offensive and defensive lines are terrible with no hope for the future. When your offensive line has noone under the age of 31 and your backup is 34...you are in trouble. They are an old team with no cap room...they aren't going to get better next year.
To go further about this game and the struggles of the Skins...Chris Samuels is out of the season with a torn tricep and Clinton Portis was benched in the second half for miss reads and not running routes. Sorry Skins fans!
Now to the rest of the NFL... I could tell you more about Plaxico or I could talk about Matt Cassell and whether or not he will get a big contract next year or I could talk about Tony Romo...but if you watch ESPN you already know all this. These are the top stories every week, these are the stories that the media loves, these are not the stories that should be talked about.
1) Eagles defeat the Giants...though I still consider the Gmen the top of the division and the conference, the Eagles really showed how good they can be. They controlled the ball and the clock, having 3 drives of over 6 minutes in the second half alone. Keep Eli off the field and really smack them in the mouth. That will defeat the Giants. The Eagles have a tough run to get into the playoffs and their tie could hurt them in the end...but anything is possible.
2) Dolphins and Falcons...these are two organizations that looked like they would never recover last year. The Dolphins finished a dismal 1-15 and the Falcons' coach quit in the middle of the year. Now Matt Ryan is leading the Falcons to a great season and a potential playoff berth. The media talks about how he is not accepted by the black community in Atlanta...the media doesn't talk about how they are winning games. The Dolphins are tied for first place with the Jets and the Patriots. They don't have Tom Brady or Matt Cassell, they don't have Brett Favre...but they have a chance to beat them all. Bill Parcells is a genius! if you don't think so you are not watching football.
3) Arizona Cardinals clinch the division title and have a home game in the playoffs...they have not won the division in 33 years, haven't made the playoffs since 1998, and one winning season in the last 24 years. If this is not a story that ESPN should be talking about, I don't know what is.
This year in the NFL has been fun to watch with everything going on, the stories that you hear just don't let you know. Everything is about the same people and in my opinion the wrong people. I don't need to know about Matt Cassell any more, or about Tony Romo's pinkie...I need to know about Green Bay's defense causing their demise while Brett Favre is winning in NY. I need to know about Atlanta and Miami; I need to know about Jacksonville going from the top of the league to a team that has given up; and I need to know about veteran QBs rejuvenating their teams (Kurt Warner, Jeff Garcia, Kerry Collins, Chad Pennington).
To go further about this game and the struggles of the Skins...Chris Samuels is out of the season with a torn tricep and Clinton Portis was benched in the second half for miss reads and not running routes. Sorry Skins fans!
Now to the rest of the NFL... I could tell you more about Plaxico or I could talk about Matt Cassell and whether or not he will get a big contract next year or I could talk about Tony Romo...but if you watch ESPN you already know all this. These are the top stories every week, these are the stories that the media loves, these are not the stories that should be talked about.
1) Eagles defeat the Giants...though I still consider the Gmen the top of the division and the conference, the Eagles really showed how good they can be. They controlled the ball and the clock, having 3 drives of over 6 minutes in the second half alone. Keep Eli off the field and really smack them in the mouth. That will defeat the Giants. The Eagles have a tough run to get into the playoffs and their tie could hurt them in the end...but anything is possible.
2) Dolphins and Falcons...these are two organizations that looked like they would never recover last year. The Dolphins finished a dismal 1-15 and the Falcons' coach quit in the middle of the year. Now Matt Ryan is leading the Falcons to a great season and a potential playoff berth. The media talks about how he is not accepted by the black community in Atlanta...the media doesn't talk about how they are winning games. The Dolphins are tied for first place with the Jets and the Patriots. They don't have Tom Brady or Matt Cassell, they don't have Brett Favre...but they have a chance to beat them all. Bill Parcells is a genius! if you don't think so you are not watching football.
3) Arizona Cardinals clinch the division title and have a home game in the playoffs...they have not won the division in 33 years, haven't made the playoffs since 1998, and one winning season in the last 24 years. If this is not a story that ESPN should be talking about, I don't know what is.
This year in the NFL has been fun to watch with everything going on, the stories that you hear just don't let you know. Everything is about the same people and in my opinion the wrong people. I don't need to know about Matt Cassell any more, or about Tony Romo's pinkie...I need to know about Green Bay's defense causing their demise while Brett Favre is winning in NY. I need to know about Atlanta and Miami; I need to know about Jacksonville going from the top of the league to a team that has given up; and I need to know about veteran QBs rejuvenating their teams (Kurt Warner, Jeff Garcia, Kerry Collins, Chad Pennington).
Monday, December 1, 2008
A few tears for NCAA football...
This week has a few things that bring tears to my eyes...not all bad, not all good. The storylines in college football are hard not to follow. Someone said to me that it is too difficult to follow because there are so many teams. But doesn't that make it more compelling, that there are so many teams. So as I watched so many games this weekend, I had tears in my eyes.
1) Virginia Tech defeats Virginia...dammit, I have to watch this boring ass team in the ACC championship. Beamer ball is gone, and they are boring to watch. I can't stand their fans and they think that they should in the national championship hunt every year. They barely win the ACC. Sad tears...
2) Graham Harrell shatters two fingers in the first half of Texas Tech's game versus Baylor. He tells the trainers to tape them up and he plays the rest of the game, bringing his team back to victory. He threw for one touchdown and 180 yards in the second half. And when I say shattered, I mean shattered...surgery Sunday took 4 hours and included 17 pins and 2 plates. (Harrell is one TD away from Colt Brennan's FBS record of 131). Painful tears...
3) Great games present and in the future. The Georgia Tech/Georgia game this weekend was fun to watch. There was a lot of scoring, a lot of running, and a great rivalry. It was hard not to watch this game...so much fun. Florida and Alabama win and are to face each other in the SEC championship game. This is going to be fun to watch. A real grudge match, a real football conference, and real meaning (sorry USC v. ND was boring to watch). Happy tears...
4) Lastly, Tennessee. This plot holds a place in my heart. They play well and beat Kentucky. The season ends on a high note. But it was a sad day...Phillip Fulmer's last game at UT.
He has been a part of UT football for almost 40 years, he started playing for them in 1968. Here are some stats:
Record 152-52, that is 100 wins over .500 and a 75% winning percentage.
2 conference championships and a national championship
Fulmer has a road on UT's campus named after him
Coached more that 1200 players
6 top 10 finishes (in the nation) with 8 bowl game victories.
2 losing seasons with with 14 winning ones (9 seasons with 10+ victories)
only 3 seasons when UT wasn't either first or second in the east division of the SEC
So as a Vol fan and a Fulmer follower, I am crying some emotional tears. I look forward to the future with Lane Kiffin and hope that he can be successful. But it is hard to watch such a big man in Tennessee history leave...especially after a 10-4 record in 2007.
For some tears please read: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3735054&sportCat=ncf
I am going to grab my Kleenex box and look forward to next Saturday...Army/Navy, SEC Championship, Big 12 Championship.
1) Virginia Tech defeats Virginia...dammit, I have to watch this boring ass team in the ACC championship. Beamer ball is gone, and they are boring to watch. I can't stand their fans and they think that they should in the national championship hunt every year. They barely win the ACC. Sad tears...
2) Graham Harrell shatters two fingers in the first half of Texas Tech's game versus Baylor. He tells the trainers to tape them up and he plays the rest of the game, bringing his team back to victory. He threw for one touchdown and 180 yards in the second half. And when I say shattered, I mean shattered...surgery Sunday took 4 hours and included 17 pins and 2 plates. (Harrell is one TD away from Colt Brennan's FBS record of 131). Painful tears...
3) Great games present and in the future. The Georgia Tech/Georgia game this weekend was fun to watch. There was a lot of scoring, a lot of running, and a great rivalry. It was hard not to watch this game...so much fun. Florida and Alabama win and are to face each other in the SEC championship game. This is going to be fun to watch. A real grudge match, a real football conference, and real meaning (sorry USC v. ND was boring to watch). Happy tears...
4) Lastly, Tennessee. This plot holds a place in my heart. They play well and beat Kentucky. The season ends on a high note. But it was a sad day...Phillip Fulmer's last game at UT.
He has been a part of UT football for almost 40 years, he started playing for them in 1968. Here are some stats:
Record 152-52, that is 100 wins over .500 and a 75% winning percentage.
2 conference championships and a national championship
Fulmer has a road on UT's campus named after him
Coached more that 1200 players
6 top 10 finishes (in the nation) with 8 bowl game victories.
2 losing seasons with with 14 winning ones (9 seasons with 10+ victories)
only 3 seasons when UT wasn't either first or second in the east division of the SEC
So as a Vol fan and a Fulmer follower, I am crying some emotional tears. I look forward to the future with Lane Kiffin and hope that he can be successful. But it is hard to watch such a big man in Tennessee history leave...especially after a 10-4 record in 2007.
For some tears please read: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3735054&sportCat=ncf
I am going to grab my Kleenex box and look forward to next Saturday...Army/Navy, SEC Championship, Big 12 Championship.
How the NFL imitates art...
Many people say that life imitates art and I tend to agree. I think that this is definitely apparent in the NFL...if you count football movies as art.
Here are a few storylines that would match up with a few of my favorite football movies...
1) The Replacements...scene: the locker room after Andre and Jamal Jackson shoot out the windows of Eddie Martel's Porsche. "Everyone please turn in your handguns..." Plaxico Burress please turn in your handgun. You don't have a permit for it and you carry it into a NYC club. Are you an idiot? Isn't your wife a lawyer? Just makes me think that money makes you stupid.
2) The Replacements (part 2)...the movie was shot in Baltimore at what is not M&T Bank Stadium. The star QB was Shane Falco and closely related is Ravens' QB Joe Flacco. Falco, Flacco...is that too much of a stretch?
3) The Little Giants...scene: they are playing the Cowboys and have to use a trick play to win "the Annexation of Puerto Rico". Today's Miami Dolphins are 7-5 this season after going 1-15 last year...all because the trick play or the Wildcat offense. It worked like it did in high school.
4) Varsity Blues...the star QB Lance Harbor gets hurt and the nerdy backup Jonathon Moxon comes in and leads the team to victory...the Arizona Cardinals were led by one Matt Leinert. Three time All American, Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinert. At the end of 2007 season, Kurt Warner started in place of injured Matt Leinert. Now move to 2008, Warner is one of the top candidates for the NFL MVP.
5) Varsity Blues (part 2)...the new star QB Moxon was dating Harbor's sister, Jules. Cleveland Browns QB (though injured) Brady Quinn has a similar situation, his sister is married to Packer LB AJ Hawk. If you don't know him, AJ Hawk is a badass.
6) Waterboy...an unknown water boy, Bobby Boucher, is turned into one the nation's fiercest linebackers and leads his team to a Bourbon Bowl victory...in 2001, 35 linebackers were taken in the NFL draft. A young man from the University of Arizona was not drafted but signed by the Washington Redskins. Now Antonio Pierce is the starting LB for the NY Giants and helped lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. Oh and he was in the Pro-Bowl...and he knows that of the 35 LBs drafted in 2001, there are only 5 left and he is the only one with a Super Bowl ring.
7)Remember the Titans...this is a little bit of a stretch but a black coach enters a community that is not known for integration (minus the Rooney Rule) and Gerry Bertier was in a car accident, Big Ben wrecked his motorcycle. I am not trying to make light of the situation, but it is one of my favorites.
8) Last Boy Scout, Longest Yard, Gridiron Gang...these have the similar thoughts. The Last Boy Scout; scene: running back runs down the field with the ball, pulls out a pistols, shoots the defenders as he runs by, then shoots himself in the endzone. Enter Plaxico Burress. The Longest Yard and Gridiron Gang are about football in prison or youth prison...enter Burress, Adam Jones, Larry Johnson, etc.
9) Air Bud: Golden Receiver...insert your own Michael Vick joke here. Though I think when he is free in June that he should be signed by the Browns. His fans would be the dog pound...haha.
I think that this covers it...I think that you get my point. If you have not seen these movies, please do, I recommend them. I am still waiting for headlines or stories to copy Necessary Roughness, Any Given Sunday, Wildcats, and Jerry Maguire.
Here are a few storylines that would match up with a few of my favorite football movies...
1) The Replacements...scene: the locker room after Andre and Jamal Jackson shoot out the windows of Eddie Martel's Porsche. "Everyone please turn in your handguns..." Plaxico Burress please turn in your handgun. You don't have a permit for it and you carry it into a NYC club. Are you an idiot? Isn't your wife a lawyer? Just makes me think that money makes you stupid.
2) The Replacements (part 2)...the movie was shot in Baltimore at what is not M&T Bank Stadium. The star QB was Shane Falco and closely related is Ravens' QB Joe Flacco. Falco, Flacco...is that too much of a stretch?
3) The Little Giants...scene: they are playing the Cowboys and have to use a trick play to win "the Annexation of Puerto Rico". Today's Miami Dolphins are 7-5 this season after going 1-15 last year...all because the trick play or the Wildcat offense. It worked like it did in high school.
4) Varsity Blues...the star QB Lance Harbor gets hurt and the nerdy backup Jonathon Moxon comes in and leads the team to victory...the Arizona Cardinals were led by one Matt Leinert. Three time All American, Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinert. At the end of 2007 season, Kurt Warner started in place of injured Matt Leinert. Now move to 2008, Warner is one of the top candidates for the NFL MVP.
5) Varsity Blues (part 2)...the new star QB Moxon was dating Harbor's sister, Jules. Cleveland Browns QB (though injured) Brady Quinn has a similar situation, his sister is married to Packer LB AJ Hawk. If you don't know him, AJ Hawk is a badass.
6) Waterboy...an unknown water boy, Bobby Boucher, is turned into one the nation's fiercest linebackers and leads his team to a Bourbon Bowl victory...in 2001, 35 linebackers were taken in the NFL draft. A young man from the University of Arizona was not drafted but signed by the Washington Redskins. Now Antonio Pierce is the starting LB for the NY Giants and helped lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. Oh and he was in the Pro-Bowl...and he knows that of the 35 LBs drafted in 2001, there are only 5 left and he is the only one with a Super Bowl ring.
7)Remember the Titans...this is a little bit of a stretch but a black coach enters a community that is not known for integration (minus the Rooney Rule) and Gerry Bertier was in a car accident, Big Ben wrecked his motorcycle. I am not trying to make light of the situation, but it is one of my favorites.
8) Last Boy Scout, Longest Yard, Gridiron Gang...these have the similar thoughts. The Last Boy Scout; scene: running back runs down the field with the ball, pulls out a pistols, shoots the defenders as he runs by, then shoots himself in the endzone. Enter Plaxico Burress. The Longest Yard and Gridiron Gang are about football in prison or youth prison...enter Burress, Adam Jones, Larry Johnson, etc.
9) Air Bud: Golden Receiver...insert your own Michael Vick joke here. Though I think when he is free in June that he should be signed by the Browns. His fans would be the dog pound...haha.
I think that this covers it...I think that you get my point. If you have not seen these movies, please do, I recommend them. I am still waiting for headlines or stories to copy Necessary Roughness, Any Given Sunday, Wildcats, and Jerry Maguire.
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