Only one team gets an A+

It is a fact that only one first-round draft pick has signed up to this point.  Dez Bryant agreed to a 5-year $11.8 million contract.  Good for him!  Tony Romo needs a solid target outside of Miles Austin.  No one could ever accuse Jerry Jones of being a follower!

However, other teams are close to deals with draft picks and this will likely open the flood gates for contracts getting done.  Of the three teams listed in this column–St. Louis, Buffalo, and Cleveland–only one is smart.  Only one made a good move, and you’ll be surprised which one it is.

It’s not every day that two quarterbacks and a running back–each one a household name–can produce two bad choices and only one smart choice.  However, that’s what we have here.

The Rams Reached Too Far On This One

Every time the Rams reach they set themselves back 5 years.

I’ve heard rumor after rumor that the Rams are prepared to give Sam Bradford–the #1 overall pick in 2010–an unprecedented contract.  More money guaranteed than ever, and more money overall than ever.

Sam Bradford looked great at Oklahoma in 2008.  He won the Heisman Trophy.  He ran a juggernaut offense that steamrolled Big 12 defenses left and right.  Bradford also had a cannon for an arm.

Then Bradford’s throwing arm was injured at the beginning of the 2009 season.  He missed the rest of the season.  He was still on the “#1 watch” because St. Louis tanked the season early.

When Bradford started working out for NFL teams his arm was declared “healed” and everything was ok.  Hell, the Rams even cut Marc Bulger so there wouldn’t be a competition for the starting quarterback job.

Everyone on the planet knew where Bradford was going with a recently injured throwing arm.  Now, he’s landed in St. Louis and the Rams are going to guarantee him–if the rumors are true–more money than anybody.  Don’t you think that’s a reach?

For every Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Drew Brees, and Matt Ryan there’s 5 Akili Smiths, Ryan Leafs, or Jamarcus Russells.  You can’t deny that there are more misses than hits in the QB draft market.

So for the Rams to give a #1 overall draft pick at quarterback who has a recently injured throwing arm, unprecedented money is just foolish.

You could give him a fairly large contract, but save some of that “unprecedented money” to sign players to go around Bradford.  Plus, wouldn’t you want to be cautious with the guy who missed all of last season?

The Sam Bradford pick–as of right now–was stupid.  His impending contract is stupid.  The Rams are just being stupid.

I thought getting rid of Marc Bulger was smart, but not for an unproven kid with a potentially bad arm!  They could have made a play for Donovan McNabb.  They could have made a play for Derek Anderson.  They could have done anything but this.

He’ll have to start right away and he’ll either break the “sacked” record held by David Carr, or he’ll lose all his confidence in a couple of  bad games.  I don’t want Sam Bradford to fail, but when it’s all said and done he might be right up there in the “failure” category with Jamarcus Russell.

Buffalo Drafted The Wrong “Skill” Player

All that glitters is not gold.

Buffalo spent the #9 overall pick on C.J. Spiller.  He’s an all-world running back from Clemson.  He holds so many ACC and Clemson offensive records that I’m not going to even bother to list them.

C.J. Spiller is a fantastic player, but the Bills have other needs, don’t they?

I know that Trent Edwards at QB is a nice guy, but can he really do something there?  The Bills could have had Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen, or Tim Tebow.  For a while, I thought Tebow was going to Buffalo.

The Buffalo defense isn’t fantastic either.  The Bills could have had Earl Thomas, Brandon Graham, Derrick Morgan, Dan Williams, or Jared Odrick in the first round alone.

Oops!

I consider “skill” positions to be quarterback, running back, receiver, and everyone on defense.  There were 18 players taken after Spiller who fit that bill.  Buffalo didn’t look at any of these other guys?

Do they really think that a smallish running back who can’t run between the tackles is going to make their team “dazzling”?  How in the world does this make sense?

C.J. Spiller, unfortunately, won’t do even a fraction of what he did in college.  Playing in Buffalo–in the freezing cold–is not conducive to his kind of game.  Plus, that is not what the Bills are all about.

When Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, and Thurman Thomas went to four straight Super Bowls they weren’t flashy–they were effective.  C. J. Spiller will be flashy, but not effective.

Cleveland Just Made A Killing

Cleveland made a killing in the draft.

The Browns are close to a deal with Colt McCoy.  Remember when they drafted McCoy?  In the third round.  Colt McCoy took Texas to the BCS National title game and his arm went “dead” on a fluke play.  I felt bad for him, but that kind of thing happens.

He went on the same kind of “rehab tour” that Sam Bradford went on.  Every major news outlet had someone following McCoy around every second of every day.  McCoy wasn’t very forthcoming, but one day his arm was declared “healed” just like Sam Bradford.

McCoy fell all the way to the third round where Cleveland scooped him up.  They traded Brady Quinn and let Derek Anderson go.  They signed Jake Delhomme to a short contract and cleared the way for McCoy to become “the man”.

Plus, the contract on the table for McCoy is a four year deal worth about $5 million.  That’s plenty of money–we know McCoy won’t complain–and he’ll capitalize on the opportunity to become “the man” in Cleveland.

Cleveland took DB Joe Haden–out of Florida no less–in the 1st Round and waited patiently for the QB of the future.  Instead of throwing all their money away on a kid who will have to start now, they can save their money and develop a young quarterback.

All that “saved money” will go to players who will play around McCoy.   When–and if–he proves himself, the team around him will be whole.  We can’t say the same for Sam Bradford.  I never thought I’d say this, but the Cleveland Browns made a smart play.  They’re definitely going places this time around.

Additional Reading on GenXXL:

• JaMarcus Russell Falls: Raiders Rise
• NFL: Potentially Great Teams With Stupid Players
• Terrell Owens Suitors: Patriots, Seahawks, and More

Photo from: Niketalk

I need to open this column with a statement from Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. It echoes my sentiments exactly and I applaud him for having the balls to say it.  I now count Dan Gilbert as a top-5 owner in sports for this display of strength.

Dear Cleveland, all of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers supporters wherever you may be tonight;

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several-day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his “decision” unlike anything ever “witnessed” in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.

The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.

There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.

You simply don’t deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.

You have given so much and deserve so much more.

In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight: I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA Championship before the self-titled former “king” wins one.

You can take it to the bank.

If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our “motivation” to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.

Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there. Sorry, but that’s simply not how it works.

This shocking act of disloyalty from our homegrown “chosen one” sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And “who” we would want them to grow up to become.

But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called “curse” on Cleveland, Ohio.

The self-declared former “King” will be taking the “curse” with him down south. And until he does “right” by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.

Just watch. Sleep well, Cleveland. Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day…

I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:

DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue…

The Positives in Miami

Photo from: Gulfstream

In Miami there are tons of positives. We know that the beaches and nightlife are fantastic. The weather is great all the time.  Heck, I’ve been there at the end of December.  While the rest of the country is freezing its ass off, it’s 85 degrees in Miami.

There are many, many famous people living in Miami.  There are plenty of opportunities for hobnobbing and schmoozing. I remember taking a cruise by Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga’s house in Ft. Lauderdale—his property is shaped like Florida!

Besides the sightseeing I can’t see how this is positive for anybody but Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. They get to hang out and chill in Miami.

The Heat are run by Pat Riley. He’s won 5 titles as a coach and he’s got a great basketball mind.  Whether he takes these 3 guys plus some “flotsam and jetsam” to a title or not—the Miami “Big 3″ will have fun. That is, until . . .

They See All The Cons

This guy cannot handle the "Miami Thrice" Photo from: NBA.com

The “cons” in Miami are mighty. They are small, but great things can come in small packages. A trio of 28, 26, and 25-year olds are probably not thinking about how they will actually play the game.

When Pat Riley figures out how to cut the ball into threes and hand it out to each of them a third at a time—then they will be able to play well.

Can Mario Chalmers run this team from the point? Probably not. Remember, he hasn’t translated well to the NBA. In fact, even if he was a brilliant, Rajon Rondo-type Point Guard, the “Big 3″ wouldn’t allow him to run the offense.

LeBron will likely become the “Point Forward” in Miami—trying to mimic Hedo Turkoglu with Orlando in the 2009 playoffs. The only problem with that? He’ll get tired of it.

I hope he doesn’t think that letting Wade take passes as a Shooting Guard will open him up for more chances. Wade will take the ball and run straight to the basket.

Now LeBron is annoyed.

LeBron may have more chances to rebound, but wouldn’t that be Chris Bosh‘s job?  Bosh is 7 foot tall.  LeBron, at 6’8″, would need help pulling down rebounds because Bosh has only averaged 9.4 rebounds a game for his career.

So, Bosh doesn’t have the “killer instinct” and he isn’t even a superstar. He’s just lucky that he’s D-Wade’s friend. Let’s scrap Bosh from this conversation. He’ll just be salary the Heat will want to dump near the end of his contract.

Wade v. James For the Ball, the Team

The object of their affection. Photo from: Be Sportier

These two gentlemen will be fighting for the ball while Mario Chalmers stands by and watches. LeBron has this “kingly” image to uphold, but deep-down inside he knows he can’t hack it alone.

So, while he knows internally that he isn’t a winner—he’s outwardly fighting Wade for the ball so he can prove to the world that the move to Miami helped.

He’ll want to win games for Heat to prove to Cleveland, and himself, that the move was right. He’ll fight every instinct he has to become the “Paul Pierce” of this “Big 3″.

Paul Pierce was the slashing-scorer in Boston.  Meanwhile KG was the emotional center and Ray Allen shot daggers all night.

In this scenario LeBron wants to be Pierce and KG combined. He was already hamming it up with his teammates in Cleveland.  He led them emotionally.  He led them on the court, but he couldn’t close the deal. He already tried this and it didn’t work.

The first few times he hams it up on the court Wade will let it go. After a while, Wade will be over it.

They will not only fight for the ball—they will fight for the team. Bosh and Wade are best friends. They’ll go to dinner so Wade can complain about James and his ego. James will sit alone at home and come up with ways to become Jordan.

It’s true that Wade wants to win more titles, but he understands that winning 5 or 6 championships is a near impossibility. It is, most likely, not a reality for him.

LeBron still thinks he can be Jordan. LeBron will be fighting to “carry the mantle” while Wade and Bosh will be talking at dinner about how annoying he is.

That’s a fight for a team. It’s a fight for the team that happens after they spent all night fighting on the court with a bunch of minimum-salary players.

What Have You Done?!

Photo from: Flixster

Here is what LeBron has done. He’s made himself into the second-biggest villain in sports. Art Modell still holds the title from taking the Browns to Baltimore and almost immediately winning the Super Bowl.

However, the reason LeBron is #2 is simple: He picked on poor, old Cleveland just like Art Modell. He took an entire city and ripped their hearts out on national telelvision while sitting at a Boys and Girls Club.

I would argue that LeBron just killed basketball in Cleveland. But, I hope Dan Gilbert proves me wrong and creates a winner in Cleveland. I really do. However, I don’t know how they can do it. I think LeBron drove in the final stake.

LeBron became the guy who killed basketball in Miami because he wants to be famous.  His ego has made him a terrible person in most people’s eyes—even though all he did was change teams.

LeBron created a situation where everybody in the country will be rooting against Miami. In fact, the Heat might have lost some fans because they don’t want to root for an ego-maniac like LeBron. Some people are going to label him a “gutless coward” and write him off.

LeBron has put a bullseye on this team’s back. He has made it impossible for this team to succeed the way they want it to. In fact, I bet they will barely win 50 games.

Without a Center, a functional Point Guard, and, you know, reserves. James just created a team where the “Miami Thrice,” as they are being called, will log about 120 minutes a night. Now multiply by 82 games.

While they’re catching their breath, Dan Gilbert is making it his “mission in life” to make LeBron James suffer. You read the letter at the top, right? He’s beyond pissed.

LeBron didn’t just make himself into the most-hated player in our current sports landscape. He made the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and anything “Miami” into the ultimate pariah.

If you thought it was easy to hate the Yankees, or Duke Basketball, or the Cowboys—just try hating the Miami Heat. Hell, you may not even have to try.

You probably already do.

Additional Reading on GenXXL:

• LeBron James’ Decision: The Winner is…
• LeBron James Free Agency Final Four Breakdown
• No Free Agent Tour For LeBron–He’s Missing Out

Photo by Craig ONeal

The Jacksonville Jaguars have David Garrard, Maurice Jones-Drew and a young Offensive Line. They also have disgruntled fans and an unrealistically stringent owner.

Back in January, Jaguars Owner Wayne Weaver said he wanted Garrard to be more like Peyton Manning.  He’s quoted as saying:

“I tell a story about Peyton Manning when [Indianapolis] drafted Pierre Garcon and Peyton Manning drove three hours twice a week because this kid couldn’t come to the OTAs and train because of his graduating class,” Weaver recently told the media. “He drove three hours twice a week to throw to this kid, to teach him how to be a pro, how to work. We need to do more of that here. David just needs to do more of that with our young receivers.”

The only problem with this is the city’s distaste for Garrard.  I’ve mentioned in this space my drive with my kids home from Disney World.

When you’re alone in a car with three small kids, and an NFL game is on the radio–you listen. The broadcasters didn’t get off Garrard’s back–and they’re the hometown guys!

If the broadcasters have their fingers on the pulse of the city, then this city is not feeling Garrard. They didn’t like him in November. They probably didn’t like him before that either.

Where did the Jags and Garrard “grow apart?”

The City Has It All Wrong–Any Day Is Day One

Photo by Joe Shlabotnik

Jacksonville, Florida, is the largest metropolitan city–in area–in the country. They’ve incorporated and included everything in Duval County–except the Jags.

To be fair, the Jags use Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, but it’s only called that because Alltel backed out of their sponsorship deal. Now the city has no sponsor and a stadium it can’t fill.

The city bitches and moans about the performance of the team, but they never come to the games. The broadcasters bitch and moan about Garrard’s performance, but they know he’s not on the field by himself.

It seems the city has decided that David Garrard is the root of all evil in Florida. The next thing we know, the city will accuse Garrard of stealing a baby.

Jacksonville did what Atlanta does. They chose a savior and then smashed him when it didn’t work out. They ignored the problematic coaching and settled for mediocrity.

The Braves have won a single Championship under Bobby Cox, but it’s “ok.” The Jags can’t sell out their stadium under Jack Del Rio, but that’s “ok.”

The Braves ran Tom Glavine and John Smoltz out of town when they couldn’t save the team anymore. Jacksonville has taken it one step farther by hating Garrard because his team stinks.

They’ll incorporate swampland in Jacksonville, but not their quarterback. You’d have a hard time performing, too, if no one wanted you around.

We always “bust a tear” for Donovan McNabb because the fans in Philly hated him.  The fans in Jacksonville hate David Garrard more.

Day Two–Wayne Weaves A Tangled Web

Well, if the Owner also must have his finger on the pulse of the fans, then he knows they’re unhappy. So, he goes out in the media and says what the fans want to hear.

Problem is, David Garrard can’t be Peyton Manning because his team is not as good as the Colts. The current offensive linemen for Jacksonville have 20 combined years of experience. The Colts’ current linemen have 51 combined years experience.

What do you want this man to do, sprout wings and fly over the defensive line? He’s a poor man’s Mike Vick and a less-skilled version of Donovan McNabb.

How long could it possibly take to drive to Tampa and ask the Bucs how they won a Super Bowl with Brad Johnson at the helm? He’s far less skilled than Garrard, but he was utilized more effectively.

As soon, as Wayne Weaver opened his mouth and said “Garrard should equal Manning,” the relationship was completely done. He might as well have said, “I hate David Garrard, so I’ll heap unreasonable expectations on him for fun. By the way, we give up.”

Day Three–The Front Office Effs Up The Roster

They’ve given up. Tim Tebow was there at #10. They could have taken him, traded back slightly in the first round and gotten more picks. They could have sold out season tickets in five minutes.

Instead, they took a defensive end for a team that already has a good defense and a defensive head coach.

That’s called mailing it in, folks.

The disdain for Garrard has infected the fan base, the owner, and the front office.  They passed up on Tim Tebow, didn’t take ONE offensive lineman, and yet, they expect things to improve.

Tim Tebow would have sold tickets. Any help on the offensive line would be a Godsend for Garrard. Any indication that they care would help the fans.

Now the fans will continue to direct their angst at Garrard and completely overlook their crappy ownership, coaching and executives.  Maybe we can move them to L.A. and rename them the “Los Angeles Braves.”

Come on, you know you want to!

How Bad Can It Possibly Get?

Photo by JollyOldStNick08

Garrard has five years left on his $60 million extension. You ever smoked $60 million? I haven’t either.

That’s what the Jags are doing. Garrard is a good player, but they aren’t using him correctly. He has one weapon–Jones-Drew–and a bunch of lightweight receivers.

The fans hate him. The owner surely hates him. The front office leaves him out there with no offensive line so he can be slaughtered like cattle.

Oh, and the city is over him in the most intense way. That’s what smoking $60 million looks like. You “put a ring on it,” then you spit in her face.

David Garrard must like spittle because he told the Associated Press:

“I think any time any man is challenged it’s going to bring something out of you. It should. If another man is going to challenge you, and you are really a man, then you’re going to rise to the occasion. I want to be better. I want to be greater.”

Really Dave? You haven’t figured out that you’re the most hated man in Jacksonville? I would have said, “Y’all can kiss my black ass. Davey’s out. Peace!”

If they don’t respect you enough to build the right team around you, then you need to ask for a trade or to be released.  The Jags are in a tailspin that will only bottom out when you leave.

As long as you stay and “do the right thing” by a team that disrespects you, you’re only hurting yourself.

The Jags might win seven games this year. Though over the next 3-4 year, things will get really bad. Garrard’s extension will be a stumbling block, and the city will just hate him for it.

Meanwhile, Jack Del Rio stalks the sidelines; Gene Smith is still the GM, and Wayne Weaver is still the owner.

The “Los Angeles Braves” don’t sound so bad now, do they?

Photo by OPEN Sports

Tim Tebow went to the Broncos and he is set to complete the total transformation of that team.  Josh McDaniels has put his stamp on this team in a major way.

Now Tebow is the seal on the envelope and the letter is titled, “Josh McDaniels’ Guide to Screwing the Rest of the NFL.”

Not only will Tebow be able to revolutionize the Broncos, but McDaniels–I believe–is trying to revolutionize the game.  Tebow isn’t going to be a halfback in Denver, nor will he be a wingback.

This “wildcat” isn’t going to be standard fare in Denver.  Tebow believes he’s better than that and won’t stand for it.

You don’t take a Quarterback in the 1st Round without grooming him to be the starter.  It’s like writing a murder mystery, putting a gun on the table, and never letting it fire.  Tebow’s going to be firing live ammo in Denver, and he knows it.

Irrespective of your “love/hate ratio” with Tebow, you have to admit that he’s rising and Kyle Orton is falling.  While we’re at it, we should probably change Orton’s name to Rich Gannon, Jr.

Teb-Oh Wow–He Went Ahead of Clausen

Photo by Craig ONeal

Tim Tebow is on the rise.  He just went in the 1st round of the 2010 NFL Draft before Colt McCoy and Jimmy Clausen.  There was a time when he was going to be a 3rd-Rounder–now he’ll be a very rich young man.

Josh McDaniels’ bet is, I believe, that Tim Tebow is John Elway, Jr.  Tebow can run better than Elway.  He has been taught how to pass and he can come into his own.  Tebow is a natural-born leader–just like Elway.

Bringing in Tebow and allowing him to contribute now gives everyone a taste of Tebow before the transformation is complete.  Urban Meyer did the same thing with him in 2006 backing up Chris Leak.

Tebow was given a chance to become a leader by contributing.  Then, when he became “the” leader, he won the Heisman, won two national titles, and almost won each of them again.

Take the same scenario in Denver:  The Broncos aren’t married to Kyle Orton.  They have him signed on a one-year tender.

Pulling him in and out of games to play Tebow screws with defenses and doesn’t cost them anything.  The more experience Tebow gets, the more he becomes Elway, Jr.

In a few years, I believe we’ll see Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn on the way out and the anointing of Tim Tebow.  Besides the fact that this pick means Brady Quinn is a “trade-bait/practice partner,” it means Kyle Orton is destined to become “a journeyman.”

Now Entering the Ring–Kyle “The Journeyman” Orton

Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer, Mark Rypien, Rich Gannon, and Frank Reich–each of these men was a journeyman Quarterback who won a Super Bowl or led his team to a Super Bowl.

In 1993, Frank Reich led the Buffalo Bills on a 35-3 tear that completed the greatest playoff comeback in history.  He then handed the team to Jim Kelly for the Super Bowl.

Brad Johnson played for 5 teams in his career, but he won the Super Bowl in Tampa with little to nothing around him.  Mark Rypien played for 5 different teams, yet he was the MVP of Super Bowl XXVI.

Trent Dilfer played for 5 teams, but he led the Ravens to a Super Bowl win, and Rich Gannon was a lifetime backup who struck gold in Oakland.  He played for 4 teams before landing in Oakland and leading one of the most productive offenses in history to the Super Bowl.

This will be Kyle Orton’s journey.  He was a suitable answer in Chicago.  He stepped in at Denver and made the team much better.  He’ll probably help “coach up” Tim Tebow and move on.

He may have to make a few stops, but he’s good enough to be a Rich Gannon or a Trent Dilfer. He reminds me of the fraternity I listed above.  He’s usually just not the first option.

However, when he does become the first option, he’ll take his team far.  The most exciting part of that–and the reason why the NFL is so cool–is that it could be anybody.

Any team could pick up Orton and suddenly start wiping the floor with everyone.  I can’t wait to see his final destination because we know it is not in Denver.

Bronco “Transformers”

Photo by Sharanr

I’ve given Josh McDaniels a lot of grief for being a boneheaded, egotistical, young coach.  I’ve even accused him of only looking out for himself–not the team.  However, I’ve never discounted that he has a great football mind.

I knew that McDaniels “had a clue” because he got hired out of New England.  As much as you may like or hate Bill Belichick–his assistants are smart.

However, there’s intelligence and then there’s savvy.  I didn’t know if McDaniels would be savvy enough to handle Denver and their expectations.  They want John Elway, Jr.

Well, with Tim Tebow rising up, I think McDaniels has found his answer.  He is transforming the Broncos from a “sling the ball around” team to a QB/leader-driven team.

He got rid of Jay Cutler–not a leader.  He got rid of Brandon Marshall–too much slinging.  He’s stripped the Broncos of any semblance of what got Mike Shanahan fired–Jackass QB, jackass receiver, and too much ego.

Now he has a “character” quarterback, a “character” protégé and a burgeoning defense.  He’s remaking the Broncos of the 80′s and 90′s with John Elway.  How will he make the transformation complete?

Use Quinn as “trade bait” and a practice partner for Tebow.  Let Orton stay in until Tebow is ready.  Unleash his new “fury” on the league for the following 10 years after the transformation is complete.

McDaniels is savvy enough to know that recreating the Broncos of the 80′s and 90′s will make the fans happy.  Happy fans = happy team.  Joshie is much better than I gave him credit for.

You can’t replace John Elway.  He was the first of five Hall of Famers in a row to be drafted in 1983.  Guys like that don’t grow on trees.  Josh McDaniels knows something we didn’t…they grow in Florida!

Find Out More on GenXXL

• The General’s “How to Draft a Game-Changer”
• Donovan McNabb Can Rewrite “Running Quarterback’s” History Book
• Doomed to Repeat NFL History, Prospects and Criminals

It's time for teams to make or break themselves with guys they think they need. Photo from: NFL Mock Draft

I’ve never been one for mock drafts and I’m not about to start now.  I did mention a few “needs” that teams had a few weeks back, but now we’re getting into new territory.

With all the upheaval that comes with the offseason everyone starts looking for the “new thing”.  To quote my favorite band, Fuel, “It’s the new thing I desire, not the old thing, but it’s for me”.

Essentially, that’s code for, “I’ll take anybody with a pulse if I think they’re worth a win or a big play”.

They’ll sleep on a cot in their office so they can work 20 hour days—at the expense of their families.  They’ll even draft guys they don’t need because that player MIGHT equal more wins.

Notice I said MIGHT.  No player is a proven commodity in the draft, but coaches convince themselves otherwise.  We always here things like:

“If Player X goes to Team Y that’ll be worth 5 more wins.” Do these people really believe that?

Teams makes changes all offseason in the hopes of getting better, but they’ll rest their hopes for improvement on a college kid?  Game-changers don’t just fall out of the sky and they certainly don’t always come from “pedigree”.

If you look at the top 15 picks in the draft every single one of those teams needs a game-changer.  Some of them will win and others will lose.  However, there are 5 names that everyone thinks will change games, but I beg to differ.

My hope is that no team will fall victim to thinking they can get a game-changer in these 5 guys in the 1^st Round.  I’m not saying they suck—but I AM saying that they can’t make the difference everyone is expecting.

Spiller

C.J. Spiller is a phenom--but is he worth it?

C.J. Spiller holds the record for just about every offensive statistic you can imagine in the ACC.  Plus, he scores touchdowns in multiple consecutive games and runs for major  yardage in multiple consecutive games.

So, on paper he looks like someone who could change games.  He could equal more wins for your team, but what if he gets incorrectly utilized?

If you take C.J. Spiller and change his name to Dante Hall or Devin Hester you’ve already pretty much ruined his career.  Hester and Hall had one good year each and they got steamrolled by the overactive imaginations of Offensive Coordinators.

Hester and Hall both became phenoms in the “return game” and their respective teams decided it would be fun to insert them into the offense.  Do you remember where Dante Hall even went after Kansas City?  Do you remember Devin Hester making a difference on offense for the Bears?

I didn’t think so.

For every supreme offensive talent there’s a team willing to use and abuse him.  When I saw Dante Hall explaining K.C.’s return plays on NFL Live I knew there was a problem.  The Chiefs made Hall into their PR bitch.

As soon as the bitchness wore off–and he didn’t run back a thousand kicks for TDs–it was over.  He was playing receiver in the offense and trying to return kicks.  Not everyone can do that.

If someone takes Spiller in the 2nd Round to run the ball a little and play special teams he’ll be fine.  If he gets pushed too hard in both directions he’ll crumble under the unreasonable expectations.

Nobody is Superman–even if they have the tattoo.

Suh

"House of Spears" is a loaded term. Photo from: Lehigh Valley Live

His name means “House of Spears”.  He played for Nebraska.  He could have easily won the Heisman Trophy if it weren’t for Mark Ingram.  However, he doesn’t get the ball.

Ndamukong Suh could have 30 sacks in a season, but he’ll still never get the ball with the game on the line.  Everyone is thinking that the team who gets Suh can have a “Green Bay-style” rebirth.  We’re forgetting some things.

The team that drafts Suh will not have Mike Holmgren coaching.  They will not have Brett Favre at Quarterback.  They will not have a Antonio Freeman catching passes.

They will NOT have Desmond Howard–the Super Bowl MVP.  And they will not have Mark Chmura running out at Tight End.

that, my friends, is a “House of Spears”!

The team that gets Suh will have an instantly improved defense.  They will have a greater morale and certainly have a greater motivation to succeed.

Just don’t forget that the teams who lead the league in defense don’t always make the playoffs.  Those guys on defense are great, but they don’t handle the ball every down.

Bradford

Sam Bradford is "back". Photo from: Meki.com

Sam Bradford is supposedly “back”.  He had a great pro day and now the Rams look like the front-runners to select him.  They hold the first pick in the draft and they’ve been on the clock since the end of the regular season.

As many times as I said the Rams needed to move on from Marc Bulger, I never said that changing Quarterbacks alone would fix everything.  It’s one thing to view a QB as a piece and it’s another to view them as “it”.

Sam Bradford may well become a Hall of Famer, but he isn’t one right now.  He will get the ball virtually every snap of St. Louis’ games, but he’ll still have to be good.  You can’t go out there and win in the NFL based on potential.

Bradford won the Heisman Trophy.  Heisman winners don’t typically pan out in the NFL–see Gino Torretta, Andre Ware, Chris Weinke, etc.  He played at Oklahoma.  Oklahoma’s a great program.  That’s meaningless.

Jerry Rice went to Mississippi Valley State University.

When the Rams–most likely–take Bradford I HOPE that Steve Spagnoulo has a plan to surround Bradford with everything he needs.

Give him a veteran receiver to teach him how to read routes.  Give him a veteran backup to teach him how to read defenses.  Give him MORe than a Left Tackle so he isn’t killed on the field.

Sure, he may put up a game-winning TD pass or run for a 1st Down on 4th and 1.  He may do all of those things and win 5 Super Bowls.

He hasn’t yet.

You MUST select him if you think he’s the future, but he isn’t a game-changer.  He’s part of the game changing.

Tebow

Tim Tebow was great in college, but the NFL is a whole other world. Photo from: 16th and Highland

Tim Tebow changed games in college all the time.  Tim Tebow won the Heisman as a sophomore and won a National Title the year after.

He was playing against inferior athletes too.  The kids in college were no match for him in most instances and he could just do as he willed.  The NFL is altogether different.

Every guy in the league is an elite athlete.  Every guy in the league–except Jamarcus Russell–is as well-conditioned as they can be.  Every guy in the league can tackle Tim Tebow.  Every guy in the league can read his eyes and jump one of his passes.

Tim Tebow can be a game-changer only if his physical talents are used in a way that actually compliments the pro game.  Just looking at him isn’t enough.  You have to do something with him.

So, when I read this report from the Boston Herald I was intrigued.  The Patriots used an “in house” visit on Tebow–they only get 30–and that says alot considering that they have Tom Brady.

This situation says only one thing to me:  Bill Belichick actually sat down and thought about what he could do with Tebow.  He’s not taking a “flyer” on him.  He’d actually be prepared to maximize Tebow’s talents.

Organizationally they think they might be able to do something with Tebow.  They aren’t jumping at every hot talent.  They aren’t running after Tebow like a sad puppy.

It’s no wonder that the Patriots are lauded for their handling of their business.

That is game-changing.

Get those brackets done folks! Photo from: tbo.com

Ah, it’s springtime and March Madness is here.  I can already hear the buzzer, the shrieking crowd as a big-name goes down—and the sound of some 14 seed setting off an atom bomb on my bracket…

I love to pick my bracket every year, don’t you?  Every year I think I’ve totally got it locked down and then it dies a painful death.

Well, I’m a glutton for punishment so here I am again making my bracket public.  You can view by clicking right here.  Feel free to follow along with me during the tournament.  Also, feel free to bust my balls when I start getting stuff horribly wrong.

Since I’ve been doing this for about 25 years I also have some rules I live by:

1. A 12 always beats a 5
2. A 13 almost always beats a 4
3. 8/9 matchups aren’t always as tight as they seem
4. Some team that makes a run in their conference tournament always get a seed that’s too high
5. NEVER pick that team

Since I’ve linked to my bracket I’m not going to reproduce the whole thing here, but I will make a case for advancing some teams and not others.  Of course, this will all change as soon as “Fat Man” or “Little Boy” is detonated over Nagasaki—I mean my bracket.

First Round Shockers

Hewitt's team is SO inconsistent it's consistent Photo from: NY Times

There are a couple games that fall under the rules and will result in “upsets”.  I don’t think they’ll be “shocking”—unless I get them wrong.

Maryland will lose to Houston.  Why?  Maryland shouldn’t be a 4 seed (rules #2, #4 and #5).  They couldn’t beat an inconsistent Georgia Tech team in the ACC Tournament.  Meanwhile, Houston won their conference WITH consistency.

Cornell will beat Temple (Rules #1, #4 and #5) for the same reasons.  They’re consistent and they have dominated the Ivy League.  Temple struggled to get through the A-10 tournament and they looked good on paper, but weren’t good to watch.

Missouri will beat Clemson because Clemson basketball will probably never be worthy of a 7 seed.  Georgia Tech will beat Oklahoma State in a 2004 Final Four rematch because Georgia Tech, as Pat Forde wrote (I’m paraphrasing):

“The Jackets can’t dribble, they can’t shoot, they can’t pass, they do anything, but they’re unbeatable!” He’s right, they can’t do anything, but they seem to win when it matters.

Siena will beat Purdue(rule #2) because Purdue is a High School team without Hummell, and Utah St. will beat Texas A&M(rule #1)—because I don’t think basketball when I think “12^th Man”.  Oh, and UTEP will beat Butler (rule #1) because can’t hang in the tournament.  Never have.

Minnesota and Florida will win because they’re well-coached.  After that, all bets are off, but I really like Billy Donovan and Tubby Smith.  Actually, that applies to a lot of these teams.

And while we’re at it—Texas will destroy Wake Forest (rule #3).

Sweet 16 Bound

Siena = Good Basketball Photo from: CSTV

Siena, Murray State, and Cornell are going to the Sweet 16.  Why, you ask?  Murray State will get UTEP in the second round.  Even if I’m wrong it’ll be Murray State and Butler and Butler’s ride will end there.

Siena gets to open with a High School team—Purdue—and even if I’m wrong they’ll be fresh for A&M OR Utah St.  Plus, Siena is a good basketball team and a good basketball school.  We SHOULD expect a lot from them.

Cornell is a strong and dominant team.  They play consistently and they can beat Wisconsin.  Wisconsin made one run deep in the tournament once, and I like Bo Ryan, but I think Cornell has a Sweet 16 run in them—I can’t explain it, but it’s just a feeling.

Elite 8 Almosts

Ohio State has Evan Walker.  He’s the National Player of the Year, and that usually means nothing in the tournament.  They’ll be stopped by a stout Georgetown team.  GT plays REALLY tough and I don’t think Thad Matta’s kids can hang with that.

Michigan State will beat Kansas because Michigan State is coached by Tom Izzo.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Bill Self, but Tom Izzo is a transcendent Basketball coach.  Bill Self is just a really good basketball coach.

Other than that there are lots of high seeds going in because the MAJOR talent still resides at the biggest and most prominent schools.  You can’t predict a George Mason, but I just don’t see it either.

Final Four Losing Potential

All those minor recruiting violations--and for what!? Photo from: AdamCarolla.com

This is a new system I’ve got going on.  I may have to apply it to other teams, but this “pseudo stat” started with John Calipari.

When Kentucky was trying to lose the SEC Title to Miss. St. I tweeted:

#Kentucky needs to stop screwing around with Miss. St….or are they showing us their #Calipari Final-4-loss-potential?

#kentucky is about to lose this game…they ARE showing us their #finalfour losing potential #calipari #ncaa #basketball

This IS #final4 losing potential #kentucky #ncaa #basketball

Right after that Kentucky got lucky, went on a run in overtime and won the tournament.  However, they exhibited—with great clarity—John Calipari’s “Final Four Losing Potential”.  I tweeted as such:

#kentucky is celebrating tying a game they should win like they just won a title…what classless jerks!

What I should have said was, “Kentucky has no character”.

Calipari’s teams—when the game is on the line—when it matters most—when character reigns above talent—cannot get the job done.

Sure, you can argue that Kentucky won the SEC Title.  But they were playing MISSISSIPPI STATE!  The Bulldogs didn’t even make the tournament field this year.  That doesn’t count.

What is Kentucky going to do when they run into an inspired Villanova in the Final Four, or Syracuse in the title game?  Wanna guess?  “Do ya wanna a shot at the title Hank, do ya!?”

In the “front lawn” fight with Mel Gibson from “Lethal Weapon” they’ll get pounded.  They’ll do exactly what Memphis did against Kansas and what UMASS did against Kentucky in 1996.  They had the tools and they didn’t have the character.

Everyone craps on John Calipari for recruiting kids who are not, shall we say, the best kids.  Now we see why that’s a problem for HIM.  His kids don’t have the character to close.

I said a few months back that this John Wall kid at Kentucky couldn’t win a title with one eye on the NBA.  I now know that I was exactly right.

In a shocker—to most—Syracuse will claim its second National Championship in 7 years with a 75-68 win over Kentucky in the Title Game.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

This isn’t just one, big “open letter”; It’s a couple open letters to teams that really need someone to speak the truth.

I’m not saying that journalists in their towns aren’t doing a good job, but they also have to be politically correct—I don’t.  I’m not going to be nice to these teams because they don’t deserve it.

Today we’ll be speaking to the 3 teams in the NFL that need the biggest “talking to”: The Chargers, the Raiders, and the 49ers.  One team is good, one team is bad, and one team is ugly.

Cue the music, and let’s get started.

The Good

Dear 49ers,

I’ve been a fan since I was a kid.  5 years old to be exact.  I remember the loss in the ’83 NFC Title Game, but I looked past that to what a great franchise you were.

We had a great run until about 2000 when T.O. and his drama started to tear us apart.  Now we’re in the middle of “Alex Smith must redeemed-ville” and I hate it.

I don’t even understand why we picked this guy in the first place.  I mean, I’m no scout, but you guys MUST have known that he ran a gimmicky offense at Utah.  The only problem now is that EVERYONE knows that’s what he was running.  Why?  Tim Tebow isn’t going to be touched because he ran the same “gimmick” at Florida.

Now we’re stuck with this guy who might get better and might not.  We drafted this stupid Crabtree kid.  Does he even know up from down?  He’s a schmuck and everybody knows it.  Why did we give in to his salary demands?

We could have had a Ravens-style defense had you chosen to build something around Patrick Willis.  Too bad you didn’t!

We could have done something with Frank Gore, but the Offensive Line will make his knees give out in 2 years instead of 5.

I guess the thing that bothers me the most is this Alex Smith thing.  Could you at least do some scouting before you draft a Quarterback?  Usually I can pull for whatever you give me, but Alex Smith isn’t doing it for me.

Cut him, sign somebody, do something!  This team is SO close to being good and we’re going to waste our “window of opportunity” waiting for this guy to “maybe get well”.  I don’t have that kind of time in my life anymore.

I guess I’m just disappointed.  I’m not breaking up with you, but I’m pissed.  I’m really pissed.  I don’t everything to be “sunshine and roses”, but you’ve got to give Mike Singletary better than this.  He was the best choice you’ve made in a long time—don’t screw that up too by making him hate San Fran.

Sincerely,

The General

The Bad

Dear Chargers,

Norv Turner is NOT the answer.  The worst thing that could have happened to you has happened.  He took you to the playoffs on a bye and lost to the hottest team in the league.

Now everyone thinks you got bitten by the Jets instead of the “Curse of Norv”.  Norv Turner is your biggest problem, but not your only problem.

A.J. Smith, this is for you.  This is screwing up a perfectly good franchise by firing a Hall of Famer.  Marty Schottenheimer didn’t do anything to you except resurrect your pathetic team.

When Marty hit the door you effectively destroyed any chances your team had of winning a title.  You can clone Phillip Rivers and it won’t matter.  You can graft LDT’s legs onto Darren Sproles’ and it won’t matter.

Everybody in that organization knew the “jig was up” the second you fired a successful coach.  Ask yourself this A.J.  Does anyone in the Chargers organization NOT look behind their back constantly?

If you fired someone who saved YOUR ass, what’s to stop you from “waving your magic wand” and getting rid of people on a whim?

Yes, you may be able to build a great team, but that team doesn’t trust you.  Nobody trusts you.  If they did you’d have gone deeper into the playoffs.

This lack of trust you’ve created has infected your entire franchise.  You deserve the bad combination of Norv Turner and yourself.  A “permanently lameduck” coach and the most volatile GM in sports.

Congratulations, you made me hate the Chargers for no good reason.

Ugh,

The General

The Ugly

Dear Raiders,

Have you NO business acumen?  Isn’t there someone in the twisted wreckage of a once proud franchise that can orchestrate a takeover?

Hell, we have people taking over companies that don’t want to be taken over all the time.  It’s a common occurrence in this country and not ONE of you can save the Raiders?

In “Wall Street” it worked just fine.

Isn’t there just ONE of you who are greedy enough to want to take this franchise away from Al Davis?  He’s running it into the ground and you know it.

You could orchestrate a takeover of the Raiders and move them back to L.A.  You’d be the heroes of the NFL.  Heroes I tell you!  It wouldn’t take much.

There are people with money who would KILL to invest in a pro sports team, and the Raiders to boot!?  Come on people.

I’m tired of the Raiders being pitiful.  I’m sick of it.  The first Super Bowl I ever watched was the Raiders kicking the crap out of the Redskins.  Where did all of that go?

You let this senile-egomaniac draft JAMARCUS RUSSELL!?!?!?!  Then you let him draft Darius Heyward-Bey and screw up the 1^st Round pay-scale for half the league!?  Why do you think I’m stuck with Michael Crabtree making $32 million over 6 years with $17 million guaranteed?

YOU!  You did this!  Watch the “Wall Street” clip a few times, slick your hair back, get your “Michael Douglas mojo” on, and take our Raiders back you gutless cowards!

Highly incensed,

The General

…

There, I feel better now.

Spring Training is almost upon us, and I think it’s time to predict who will rise and who will fall in the National League.  2010 promises to be a loaded season with teams reloading, wallowing, and retooling.

Major League Baseball’s season is VERY long and VERY complicated.  Plus, it offers us a glimpse into the character of players as they struggle to complete a 162-game schedule.

Who will lose?  Who will win?  Who will show us their true character?  Let’s take a stab at this:

National League East

The Phillies are the obvious favorite in this division with their acquisition of Roy Halladay and Jose Contreras.   The signing of Joe Blanton simply kept the “power level” up, and by moving out Cliff Lee to make a way for younger pitching they’ve improved this offseason.

We could talk all day about how their hitting struggled in the World Series, but I don’t buy it.  Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Jimmy Rollins, and Chase Utley will ALL produce again in 2010.  If Raul Ibanez has half-the-season he had in 2009 then the Phillies will be a “run factory”.

The Marlins and Braves will make attempts to retool, but they won’t work.  Florida missed their “6 year World Series cycle” by not winning it all in 2009.  The Braves are NOT the Braves of the 90′s, and they won’t be anytime soon.

The Mets are out of control and Omar Minaya has proven that he isn’t really in control.  Carlos Beltran waited until right before Spring Training to have surgery, and Minaya couldn’t force him to be ready for the season?  The Mets are a mess right now.

Washington had a “blip” a couple years ago, but they will always come “Back to Life, Back to Reality”.  This season will be no different.

Winner: Philadelphia Phillies

Dark Horse: Mets/Braves/Marlins–Whoever sucks the least at the end of the season.

MVP: Roy Halladay and the chance to approach 30 wins.  Imagine how easy it will be for him without the Blue Jays uniform.

LVP: Carlos Beltran.  He’s over the Mets and it shows.

National League Central

For my money this is the toughest division in baseball–not the tightest.  This division is tough because it’s a 5-team battle for 2nd behind the Cards.

Last season the Cards won 91 games because no one challenged them until the Cubs…late.  This season the Reds are stocking up and making moves.

With the additions of Aroldis Chapman–the Cuban defector–and Orlando Cabrera the Reds might have found spark they needed.

Cabrera won a World Series with Boston in 2004, and Chapman was a “win” for the Reds over evil empires like the Yanks or the Sox.

Houston and Pittsburgh are organizational nightmares.  Drayton McLane needs to deal with Ed Wade.  When your GM is allegedly having fights with players, you need to move on.

Pittsburgh turned down an offer to buy the team from Mario Lemieux.  In essence they told their fans to kiss it.  Selling to Super Mario means you make money and the city is happy.

Why would I expect anything but disastrous seasons from these two teams when their front offices are SO inept.

The Cubs are the Cubs.  Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, and Alfonso Soriano have all lost many “steps”, and that makes Carlos Zambrano their 4th best hitter.

The Brewers added Jim Edmonds.  He MIGHT be able to guide Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun into “winning form”, but I’m not holding my breath.  However, if he succeeds then the Brewers could be dangerous.

Winner: St. Louis Cardinals

Dark Horse: Cincinnati.  I trust their pick-ups more than that of the Brewers.

MVP: Albert Pujols.  This is the part where I say, “DUH”.

LVP: Roy Oswalt.  I know this hurts, but when you start 30 games and go 8-6 it just isn’t “your time” anymore.

National League West

Let's Rename the NL West the "Retread Division"

This division produced the Wild Card last season, but that was due to a late-Rockies-rally.  At some point everybody was in the race, but the Dodgers eventually pulled away.

L.A. doesn’t have anything that looks much better than anybody else, but they do have Manny.  Is he worth $24 million?  If it wins them a division I guess so.

I could say that the Rockies will return to their late-2009 form, but they only made a push because Jim Tracy was new.  The Rockies function like a hockey team–hiring and firing like maniacs–so they’ll never be consistent from year-to-year.

The Giants can hang their hats on Tim Lincecum for 20 wins, but as I look over their roster only three names jump out at me:  Juan Uribe, Aaron Rowand, and Mark DeRosa.

Juan Uribe’s getting old.  Aaron Rowand is older.  I like Mark DeRosa, but he’s even older than the other two.

The Padres will TRY to lean on Jon Garland and it won’t work.  I suppose they can pray that Tony Gwynn 2.0 turns out to be a younger version of 1.0.  I also suppose they could wait for hell to freeze over.

The D-Backs have a little youth in Justin Upton and Chris Young.  They also have Brandon Webb coming back which makes a great “change of pace” from all the re-treads in this division.  If they repeat last year’s form then this is your Wild Card team in the NL.

Winner:  Manny.  I mean, the Dodgers.

Dark Horse: Arizona Diamondbacks

MVP: Brandon Webb–if I’m right about the D-Backs.

LVP: Jon Garland.  The Padres will try to ride him to glory and end up falling off the horse.

The Playoffs

This site will be all too familiar

If you take my word for it then we have the Cards, Phillies, Dodgers and D-Backs in the playoffs.  Would you pick against the Phillies in that situation?

I could see how the Cards MIGHT get hot late and give the Phillies a struggle in the NLCS.  Let’s say the ball bounces the right way and Albert Pujols hits a few bombs.  Perhaps the Cardinals will be in the World Series?

I can see that.

Awards

NL MVP: Albert Pujols.  Again I say, “DUH”.

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum.  Again, “DUH”.

Batting Title: I’ll be very interested to see if someone from the Phillies will hit for average.  I’ll take Chase Utley.

Let’s face it.  All of this can turn on a dime.  However, with such a long season ahead we have to assume that favorites will prevail in the end.

Then again, that’s why they play the games.

Reason #1

Mark Ingram is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner (as a Sophomore) and I think that most of us will agree that running the ball is one very big component of winning football games.  Mark Ingram runs “downhill” very well and he can chew up the clock because they don’t mind running him inside.  I know he’s small, but somehow he can take that punishment.  Ingram can also hit the corner and easily break off a run of immense proportions (simply see the 66-yarder he busted out to seal the SEC Championship.)  Ingram is deceptively fast and all the Texas defense has to do is allow him ONE shot at a big run and he can put a dagger in their heart.

I’m not saying that Mark Ingram will win the game all by himself (because you could stop him and Bama still might have a chance through the air) but stopping him would significantly hurt the Tide.  Do I think he can be stopped?  Oh, not at all.  I don’t see any way that the Texas defense can hold up to the amount of rushing and the physical grind that Bama is going to demand of them.

Reason #2

Yep, it’s Nick Saban.  I know, I know…it’s trite, but you can’t argue with his resume.  (Besides saying he wasn’t going to Alabama and then screwing the Dolphins a few weeks later {that’s a tough nut to swallow if you live in South Beach}) then you have to say that Saban is the superior coach here.  Look at what Saban has done.  He won a national championship at LSU with a program he built up out of nothing (I mean, did YOU know about LSU football before Nick Saban got there?  No, not you from Baton Rouge, I mean someone OUTSIDE Louisiana.)  Then what did he do?  Well, he left the program in good shape for Les Miles who another National Championship for LSU in 2007.  Granted, Saban didn’t recruit any of those players, but he made LSU the kind of “wonderjob” that Les Miles would want to take in the first place.  (He created the aura of expectation that looms over the LSU football program.  You wouldn’t believe it, but if you have an LSU fan as a friend on Facebook you can relate to the insane status updates that they post during games as if they deserve to win the national title every year!)
Is Saban a better coach than Mack Brown?  Yeah, I think he is.  Why, you ask?  Well, Mack Brown has a ring just like Saban, but I honestly think that Brown got his ring courtesy of Vince Young and one of the greatest individual performances in the history of the sport.  I’m not saying Mack Brown is a bad coach, but he had the right QB at the right time to beat the dreaded USC Trojans (with their TWO Heisman winners) that day at the Rose Bowl.

Nick Saban didn’t have anything like that going on for him.  Nope, he just took his Tigers in the Title Game in 2003 and smacked the crap out of Oklahoma and Josh Heipel (another Heisman Winner.)  He didn’t need any superstars for that.  I’ll admit that he had defensive standouts all over the place, but the manner in which that team was put together enabled it to win…not a Vince Young-type single game performance.  Look at the way he stalks the sideline and tell me that he can’t will his team to win.  I say he can.

Reason #3

Terrence Cody, Rolando McClain, and Javier Arenas.  This is the Haloti Ngata, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed of the NCAA.  (I know, I’ve cast Ray Lewis’ role with a smaller dude but it works in Hollywood, doesn’t it?)  Rolando McClain is a menace in the backfield who is the ultimate ball hog.  This year he’s my Major Wright (the DB from Florida.)  Everywhere the ball is…McClain is.  He makes more plays than anyone else on that team.  He’s made himself into a pretty recognizable name by putting himself near the ball at practically every second of the game.

Javier Arenas may have escaped the notice of a lot of fans, but I saw him making play after play in Bama’s close win over Tennessee when his very good game was overshadowed by Terrence Cody’s two blocked field goal attempts.  Arenas is the kind of player that hovers under the radar, makes good defensive plays, plays tight coverage on receivers, and waits like a phantom in the background for his chance to pounce.  He’ll make a huge play in the title game…I guarantee it!

Then there’s Terrence Cody.  Yes, he’s the guy that blocked two field goals against Tennessee (when Tennessee was prepared to upset the Tide) and in those two blocked field goals he saved Bama’s perfect season.  He BECAME a household name in the 10 seconds it took him to block two field goals, he improved his already-high draft stock, AND posterized himself with that amazing shot of him holding the blocked football.  That’s a man amongst boys who will be playing on Sunday very soon and starting his whole career.

Don’t we all think that if the Tide needs a field goal to be blocked field goal Terrence Cody can come through?  I do.  I don’t see how can take into account what he did against Tennessee and not consider the possibility that he could save this game as well (or put it away.)  Terrence Cody is the “other half” of the “Great Combination” that wins football games.  Mark Ingram will run the ball and Terrence Cody will stop the run (and a field goal or two.)  That’s what the Tide does best.  We could talk about Greg McElroy and Julio Jones (very good players in their own right) but they’re just icing on the cake.  Having a good Quarterback to Receiver duo is just ANOTHER way to kick Texas while they’re down.

This is where the argument changes….

“What about Colt McCoy?  He was a Heisman finalist for goodness’ sakes!” I can hear the Texas fans crowing about how they have the Quarterback du jour who’s going to ride in like a white knight and win Texas a championship all by himself.  Let me ask you something:  Who’s he handing the ball to?  Tre Newton.  He’s not a bad player, but he’s no Mark Ingram.  If you want my opinion (I hope you do since you’re reading my column) I’d say that Tre Newton is a guy that’s going to get tackled by Cody, McClain and Arenas alot.  “Ooh,ooh, what about Jordan Shipley.  He got some Heisman buzz this year!” Yes, Jordan Shipley is an INCREDIBLE receiver.  Actually, he’s the Wes Welker of college football.  He’s amazing.  I bet he can BE Wes Welker on Sundays, but do we really think that McCoy to Shipley on a thousand slot routes is going to beat Alabama?  I don’t.  He’s going to pad Rolando McClain’s tackle statistics like nobody’s business.  What does that mean?  (Because pretty much everyone gets tackled.)  Well, that means he’s not gaining any yards after the catch, and no yards after the catch = equals no real offense for the Horns.

“But the Horns have a defense too.  It’s not like they have all “Class F” recruits!” I can hear that complaint from the Texas fans as well.  Listen, I think this one is simple.  Texas has a very good defense, but no crazy standouts like Bama has in Cody, McClain and Arenas.  Plus, they have a defense that will be run down by the end of the game and will let this game get slightly out of hand by the end because they’ll be dead tired.

Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and John Taylor had Roger Craig to lean on.  Was Craig a Hall of Famer?  No.  But, he did chew up the clock and make defenses honest.  Tre Newton can’t keep the Bama defense honest and Mark Ingram CAN keep the Texas defense honest,  Therein lies the difference.  Colt McCoy is great.  Jordan Shipley is great, but I’m telling you that Mark Ingram, and that Crimson Tide defense being wielded by the clever hands of Nick Saban is enough to finish this thing.

So, what do I mean by “out of hand” at the end of the game?  Well, I figure it’ll be tight for a while because everyone will be shaking the rust off, but the Texas defense will have to shake the rust off while tackling Mark Ingram all the time.  In the meantime Alabama can shake the rust off by tackling Tre Newton (who isn’t as punishing.)  By the middle of the 3rd Quarter the Texas defense is going to be sucking wind and leaning over with hands on knees.  Panting.  When that happens Ingram will break a couple runs and McElroy can take some easy shots to Julio Jones.  That’ll push the score to a realm that will not accurately reflect how close the game was UNTIL the Texas defense lost their mojo.

Bear Bryant would be proud.  I can just imagine the scene like it’s out of a movie.  Bama’s taking a knee to finish out the game and there stands ‘ole Bear by the goalpost just enjoying watching the further successes in the house that he built.  That’s a long way from the Junction Boys isn’t it?

Alabama – 33   Texas – 13

Was the “Tim Tebow Era” what ushered in the “Urban Meyer Era”?

Let’s think about this for just a moment.  Tim Tebow comes to Florida in Meyer’s 2nd season and plays backup Quarterback to (then the starter) Chris Leak and the Gators triumphed over Ohio State (after being the dramatic underdogs) to win the BCS National Championship.  Not only did they win that game against the Buckeyes, but they won that game resoundingly.  However, for every good play that was made by Chris Leak there was this CONSTANT discussion going on about this Tebow kid.  At that point he was just a prized recruit who was getting ready to take Leak’s place after Leak’s graduation.  He was also the prized recruit who was waiting to take Leak’s place who was taking snaps in key situations in an effort to confuse opposing defenses.  His freshman year Tim Tebow was the “unknown X factor” that everyone feared and had to prepare for even though he never started a game.  His pure athletic ability alone was the kind of thing that made people think he was going to be a white Michael Vick who, when he came into the game, was going to run designed QB draws and running plays to confuse the opposing defense.

Not only was he running, but he was throwing a little and he was playing what I would consider to be an early version of the “wildcat” offense we see today in the NFL.  The big athletic guy who wasn’t the QB was going to get the ball on a direct snap and make you think that at any minute he was going to take it to the house.

Urban Meyer’s first season in Gainesville resulted in a 9-3 record and a bowl victory but nobody thought that Florida football was going to have the renaissance that it did.  No one was standing up to be counted amongst those who thought Meyer would win two national titles in 3 seasons and have a QB who would win the Heisman trophy as a sophomore, go to the ceremony the next year and be so revered the year after that that even though he didn’t deserve to go to the ceremony they let him come anyways.  The only people who even dreamt of this scenario were Florida fans and Meyer himself, but this entire scenario came about because of one player…Tim Tebow.

In his sophomore season Tebow won the Heisman trophy because he compiled the following stats:

234-350 passing for 3286 yards

210 rushes for 895 yards

55 total TD’s

He WAS “The One” (if you like “The Matrix” then you know what I mean) and he won the Heisman in a landslide, but the whole time he was propping up Urban Meyer’s team.  In 2008 when Florida lost to Ole Miss he gave the speech to end all speeches and his Gator team went on a roll that ended in their 2nd national championship in 3 seasons.  The transcript of that speech is immortalized on a wall outside the entrance to the University of Florida’s new football facility at Florida Field.  There is nothing so venerated that came from Urban Meyer’s mouth.  Nothing.  He’s the guy who gets all the credit for coaching the players, but Tim Tebow rallied the entire Gator Nation in about 15 seconds of airtime at what would normally have been a relatively worthless press conference.

Take the 2009 season as an even more extreme example.  Florida was favored all year to win the SEC and make it to the BCS National Championship Game.  Every pundit on Earth said before Florida’s loss to Alabama in the SEC Title Game “If you stop Tim Tebow you stop Florida.”  The Tide stopped Tebow and they won the right to play for the National Championship.  A team game where there are at least 85 players on each team was boiled down to one guy and when that one guy didn’t have a good game his team lost.

Tim Tebow defines the Urban Meyer era currently because he will most likely be the best player Urban Meyer ever coaches.  Urban Meyer said himself that Tim Tebow changed his life.  What more can I say about how the Tim Tebow Era managed to usher in the Urban Meyer Era?

Urban Meyer stored up a treasure for Tim Tebow, and that treasure was his “audition” for the NFL that Meyer orchestrated against the Cincinnati Bearcats.  As I said earlier this game was about more than Florida winning 51-24 because it was also about proving that Tebow can play in the NFL.  Meyer constructed a game plan that allowed Tebow to make every throw possible that was a “NFL-style throw” and for him to amass as much offense with his arm as he could.  We all know that most people in the NFL would draft this guy and make him into a “wildcat” back or some kind of slotback, but this was Meyer’s attempt to show the NFL that Tebow has significant draft value and could be the same kind of QB (a savior, really) that all the pundits expect Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy to be for some lowly NFL teams.

Tebow threw for 482 yards (a BCS record) and 3 TD’s along with running for 51 yards.  He accounted for 533 total offensive yards and 90.4315% of that offense came with the help of his arm.  He even through an 80 yard TD pass of which 55 or so yards were in the air.  He NEVER did that before the Sugar Bowl.  To be sure, he threw passes, but he didn’t throw passes like that!  It was quite an impressive show for someone who won the Heisman Trophy (I think) because of the 895 yards he ran for from the QB position his sophomore year.  For all the “wildcat” talk and all the talk about how his throwing mechanics will have to be changed once he gets to the NFL shouldn’t we be asking ourselves two basic questions?

1.  Don’t you think he could change his throwing mechanics at the drop of a hat?

2.  Wouldn’t you want him leading YOUR team?

Let’s keep it real for a second.  The San Francisco 49ers sank a lot of time and draft value into Alex Smith, but if they were over Alex Smith and Tebow dropped low enough in the draft I would be SHOUTING at the T.V. for the 49ers to draft him and dump Alex Smith.  Why?  Because Tim Tebow is a leader and more and more NFL teams need leaders under Center.  Look at the way Matt Ryan calls plays in Atlanta.  He gets on one knee and every eye in the huddle is on him.  Look at Peyton Manning run the offense in Indy.  They don’t take their eyes off of him, but when they leave that huddle they leave that huddle with a swagger that says “Chief’s got this one and there isn’t anything you can do about it!” That’s how the Gators played for the last 3 years and you saw how successful they were.

I don’t think there’s any question that Tim Tebow could “general” any NFL team to victory given the time it takes to make him NFL-ready (not very long in my opinion.)

Tim Tebow needs to go early on draft day because if he doesn’t someone is going to be regretting it like Portland regrets taking Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan.  Let’s just go through the teams that actually need a Quarterback or could draft him and sit him for a season while their older QB is on the way out.

1.  St. Louis Rams – I’ve been harping for months about the need for the Rams to scrap Marc Bulger and move on.  He simply is NOT productive anymore and now that he seems to be injury-prone it’s even more likely that they need to go in a new direction.  The obvious argument against the Rams drafting Tebow is that they have other problems and they could greatly benefit from drafting a lineman.  However, this team is going to be 1-15 and I don’t see how they could pass up true leadership.  We know that their coach (Steve Spanuolo) is a good coach since he coached the amazing Giant defense that toppled the 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl and we know they can run the ball with Steven Jackson.  They have James Laurinaitis and Chris Long on defense.  They have pieces, but imagine if you took those pieces and put them with a leader like Tim Tebow.  The possibilities for success are endless.

2.-6. -  The Lions, Chiefs, Bucs, Redskins, and Browns are all out of the Tebow market because they either are or should be “all in” on the Quarterbacks they have.  This includes Joshes Freeman and Johnson down in Tampa.  They won a Super Bowl with Brad Johnson so I don’t think they’re going all the way on any Quarterback.

7. & 8. -  The Seahawks and the Bills have QB issues.  Buffalo really doesn’t have a standout Quarterback and they could just as easily take Tebow and throw him into the fire in an attempt to remake their offense.  Tebow might be the only person in the world who could play QB with T.O. and not be bothered by T.O. (because I don’t think Tebow is bothered by anything.  Really, I think you could tell him he’s going to grow another penis and he would take it in stride) but Buffalo isn’t a GREAT fit.

Seattle, to me, is a great fit because they have Matt Hasselbeck (who is a pretty good QB who’s been to the Super Bowl and who is on his last legs) to teach Tebow and let Tebow see how you do it in the NFL.  This TOTALLY makes sense because they could slowly mold their offense into Tebow’s image and he would have Walter Jones protecting him his whole career (which is more than enough considering Tebow’s athletic ability.)  Tebow would be in a weak division and they could spend a ton of money for a top-flite OC and all would be well.

9.-11. -  Oakland, Denver and San Francisco are all pretty much “all in” on their QB’s as well.  (I’ll be rooting for the 49ers to take Tebow, but it won’t happen.)  Even though Jamarcus Russell is a bust the Raiders can’t afford to draft another QB in the 1st Round again so soon (although it would be REALLY funny!)

12.-32. -  Everybody from #12 onward is either not in need of a QB or their Seattle’s other 1st Round pick.  If Seattle thinks they could wait for Tebow until #21 then that would work too.  San Francisco also has another pick in here and I’ll be pulling for him to get picked again (even though it won’t happen.)

Everyone else in this group would be drafting him because they want to make him into a slotback or a “wildcat” back.  For those purposes a good fit would be Miami at #15.  Whilst I’m writing this column I’m watching the Dolphins and Steelers duke it out and I’ve already seen Pat White take a VIOLENT hit that left him temporarily motionless.  If we want to talk about performance Pat White still has not completed a pass in the NFL.  Don’t you think that Tim Tebow could A)  complete a pass in the NFL and/or B) challenge Chad Henne for the starting job?  I do!

I’d be stupid not to tie this thing up with a nice little bow. Tim Tebow can provide leadership AND running and passing ability to one of a few NFL teams that could really use it.  He’s got the complete package and we all know it.  I know I sound like a Tebow-jocksniffer but I’ve been critical of him when it was warranted.  He went to the 2009 Heisman ceremony without deserving it and I still don’t think he’s the “Best College Football Player Ever”.  (And I didn’t pick Florida in the SEC Title Game.)  However, he’s proved me wrong enough times to make me say UNCLE!

Lesson learned Timmy.  Lesson learned…

The NFL provides us with enough ups and downs that we can call it the “ultimate reality television” but I don’t think for a second that I could have been so up on one thing, hen down on it, and right back “up” on it again in the span of a few weeks.  For example:  the idea of the Ravens, Steelers and Bengals all making the playoffs from the AFC North was a reasonable (yet crazy) idea a few weeks ago.  After I made such a bold statement the Steelers continued a long losing streak (in losing to the Browns) and I thought my theory was done for.  Now two weeks later those same Steelers (whose coach’s 8-year old thought he made a bad move) have beaten the Packers with a miracle final drive and had a solid win against the Ravens this Sunday.  I can’t say that I understand the tiebreakers and I know that the Steelers have to pray for lots of losses from teams like the Jets, Texans and Ravens in order to get into the playoffs.  The mere notion of the Steelers making the playoffs after they starting hemorrhaging W’s a few weeks ago is almost surreal because they had seemingly thrown away their season and so many pundits were wondering if Mike Tomlin had lost this team that won the Super Bowl a season ago.

All in all that’s a pretty funny way to describe a team that has a 4000 yard passer, two 1000 yard receivers and a 1000 yard rusher in the same season for the first time in its rich history.

I can hear the catcalls already “What about ‘joy’ Mr. Man?  Huh?  What about the ‘joy’ that was going to take the Colts to 16-0.  Where’s that joy now that they’ve dropped a game to the Jets and the best they can do is 15-1?  Huh!?”  All I can say to that is:  If you though the Colts were going to lose and you didn’t give in to the hype then you were right…I was wrong.  I bought in (even after I said they were smart enough to drop a game so they wouldn’t do it in the playoffs)  and was prepared to ride them to the 19-0 season that would have left me laughing at the Patriots if 2007.  (However, I can take solace in the fact that these Colts could go 18-1.  Yes, the same 18-1 that the Patriots did in 2007, but this 18-1 would result in a championship that those Patriots could not close the deal on.)

Oh, the joy thing.  Well, where’s the joy?  Just watch their press conferences today.  They’re still upbeat:  no grunting, heavy sighs or groan and moans.  They’re disappointed (don’t get me wrong) but they aren’t going to take that out on us during their press time.  They aren’t playing for the camera.  If you wanted a good comparison I think we could make one to the 2004 Red Sox who said they were just a bunch of idiots on the way to a World Series title.  These Colts know that the Patriots are pretty cold and that has won them 3 Super Bowls, but these Colts might just be dumb enough to grin in the face of trouble and power through.  (Although I feel sort of silly calling a team led by a guy who audibles every time he comes to the line [sometimes more than once] an idiot, but what can I do?  The comparison works.)  This joy won’t take them to 19-0, but I still believe it can win them a ring.

Denver and Philly tangled in a game where the Eagles had a chance to get a stranglehold on the NFC East and perhaps inch a little closer to catching the Vikings or the Saints and stealing away with a 1st round bye in the playoffs.  I know it sounds crazy because just a couple weeks ago we were all wishing for an “undefeated Super Bowl” between the Saints and the Colts.  Even so, when the Saints lost last week to the Cowboys that was a solid win for the Boys and I assumed (as did most) that the Saints probably wouldn’t lose again since the Vikings were nipping at their heels(until the Vikings lost to the Bears in OT on MNF.)  (I really didn’t think the Saints would lose to the Bucs, but here we are.)   The Saints have shown how vulnerable they are and they have answered my own question “Did the Cowboys draw us a blueprint?” I think they did my dears.  Now, with the Saints 13-2 they could only tie the Vikings for the best record in the NFC and then it would go to tiebreakers, but if the lose and go to 11-4 (the same record as the Eagles) then we have a fight on for that other 1st round bye where the Eagles could potentially come out of nowhere and snatch it away from the Vikings.  Would you have guessed that a couple weeks ago?  I know I wouldn’t have!)

In a note that probably only interest me because I live in Atlanta the Falcons beat the tar out of the Bills 31-3 on Sunday and pushed themselves to 8-7.  One more win next week and they have their first set of consecutive winning seasons in franchise history.  (That stat still gets me every time!)

Cleveland beat Oakland in an effort to prove that Eric Mangini (I don’t know, I’m no feeling Doofgini right now) was completely derelict in his duties up until last weekend when he unleashed Jerome Harrison on the NFL and Mr. Harrison ran for 286 yards in one game.  If there was ever a way to seal your own fate by winning that would be it.  Sit the wrong skill-position player for most of the season, start him due to an injury, he breaks a team record held by Jim Brown, then you go out and kill the next week too.  That has “I was stupid the majority of the season” written all over it.  Sorry, Eric.  This is the NFL and they don’t call it the No Fun League for nothing.

Miami lost by a touchdown to Houston in what I would call a watershed game for the Texans.  Now the Texans are 8-7 with the Jets, Ravens and Broncos and they’re all vying for two playoff spots.  {The part that makes this most interesting is the current wildcard teams losing (Baltimore and Denver.)  Because both the Broncos and the Ravens lost they allowed ALL of the teams at 7-8 to still have a remote chance because losses by certain teams could cause an 8-8 team to make the playoffs.}  However, the “Straight No Chaser” of it is:  Jets win and they’re in and the Ravens win and they’re in.

I’m particularly proud of the Texans because I’ve been hard on them this season since they’ve been on an upward trend but they’ve never been able to finish the deal and make the playoffs.  Then with the talk of Gary Kubiak being on the “hot seat” and Mike Shanahan’s name being bandied about for Kubiak’s job I thought surely they’d fold up their tents again.  Alas!  The Houston Texans are in playoff contention with very good teams like the Dolphins (who they just beat), Ravens, Broncos and Steelers.  What’s more impressive is that the Texans held a 27-0 lead, were outscored 20-0 in the last 20 or so minutes of the game and held on for the win.  Texans teams of the past would have given up the final two scores to surrender a loss…but not today.  This might be a new day in Houston football.

This is one of those times I wish I could convey tone on a blog (maybe they’ll start letting me do podcasts?  That would be cool!)  Anyways, the Arizona Cardinals pounded the Rams today and I have to say “The Cards are getting hot at the right time!”  They’ve a near-lock Hall of Famer under Center, two Hall of Fame-caliber receivers and just enough of a run game to make the defense honest.  What more can you ask for (plus, Ken Whisenhunt’s danced this routine before.)  Would I be shocked if the Cards rolled through the NFC in the playoffs?  No.  Am I betting on it?  No.  The NFC’s a tough nut to crack this year.

As the strokes of the pen (or the keyboard) are made on this column the Cowboys are well on their way to beating the Redskins and clinching the final playoff spot in the NFC.  This would make “Les Six” in the NFC:  New Orleans, Minnesota, Arizona, Philly, Dallas, and Green Bay.  We have literally no idea what order they’ll be in, but we do know that pretty much ANY order is going to yield some very compelling football.  (On a side note:  Marion Barber is a beast.  He runs like a wrecking ball.  Those dreds, the long gate he has, the angry style in which he runs…it makes him a true “power back”.)

I’m note going to start kvetching (as Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth were just saying) about playoff matchups just yet, but I will say that I REALLY want to see Aaron Rodgers rematch Brett Favre in the playoffs.  Man that would be a good game!

{The Cowboys/Redskins game isn’t quite over yet and the Redskins are down 17-0.  They miss a 3rd down conversion and with about 6 minutes left they’re down 3 scores and you figure they need to go for it on 4th down, right?  Nope.  They punted the ball away.  I know they have little chance of winning the game, but you have to at least TRY.  They could have run down, scored, recovered and onside kick, scored again, rinsed and repeated and tied the game.  I know that sounds INSANE, but anything is possible.  Instead of dreaming they punted.  This has just brought to mind a new feature here on the column:  The General’s Sports Dictionary.} The first entry in the General’s Sports Dictionary is:

Coach-quit:  verb;  1.  Bobby Petrino leaves the Falcons after Week 13 and is singing “ooh Pig suey” that same night in Fayetteville.  2.  Jim Zorn, down 17-0 with 6 minutes left in the game punts on 4th down when he really had no choice but to go for it.

Check me after the jump for some New Year’s Day Bowl picks…

Capital One Bowl – Penn State and LSU pony up for a battle of two teams who had good season, but were standing behind better teams in their conferences.  LSU had Florida and Alabama’s shadow to stand in whilst the Nittany Lions were hard up to get past a depleted Ohio State squad.  Even though this isn’t the bowl Penn State was looking for you have to feel good for Joe Pa for getting his team to yet another New Year’s Day bowl and playing strong after the controversy that swirled around him a few years ago as his age came into question.

LSU’s Les Miles is one of the oddest coaches in college football because we’re always left to wonder if they win because of the coaching or in spite of the coaching.  Both teams have pretty nice offenses and strong defenses, but the game is only left up to a couple factors:

1.  Daryll Clark has a good game and Penn State is hard to beat.
2.  If LSU’s defense can produce turnovers like they did in 2008 they are nearly unstoppable.
3.  If Les Miles doesn’t make any stupid decisions that Tigers are always dangerous.

I’ll take the Nittany Lions because I don’t think Les Miles can help himself…

The Rose Bowl – Ohio State and Oregon tangle in my favorite bowl game every year…the Rose Bowl.  I love the Rose Bowl because it conjures images of players holding roses in their teeth after leading their teams to glory.  Vince Young played one of the best games in the history of college football and won Texas a national title in that very stadium.  The Rose Bowl signifies tradition, glory, elegance, all that is right and good in college football.

Ohio State is a sentimental favorite for me because my wife is from Ohio (so I’ve got an entire side of the family that is Buckeye-faithful) and Oregon is a fun pick because Chip Kelly is a great coach and he drug them from the abyss (the LeGarrette Blount punch game against Boise State) to a near loss at Oregon State for a chance to play in this very game.

The problem is that as much as I like the Buckeyes they are carrying an underperforming Quarterback who has yet to live up to even a fraction of his own hype.  Let’s not forget that Terrelle Pryor brought this on himself by having his own little press conference to announce where he was going to school like it was newsworthy.  (In essence, he’s getting every bit of criticism he deserves.  I know he’s a kid, but he’s a kid who’s going to school for free {who doesn’t want that for their kid} who wanted the spotlight and now that he’s got it he isn’t performing.)

There’s something about the scrappy nature of the Ducks that makes me want to pick them.  I’ve ridden the Buckeyes to shame in the past (especially that humiliating loss to Florida in 2006 when EVERYONE thought they were going to win their 2nd national title since 2002) and I just can’t bring myself to ignore their recent failings in bowl games.  You combine that with the intensity and “scrappiness” of Oregon under Chip Kelly and you’ve got the makings of an Oregon blowout.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl – Two lame duck teams in Florida and Cincinnati take the field in disappointment on both sides.  The Gators have a coach who’s going on indefinite leave and Cincinnati’s former coach Brian Kelly already ticked off every player on the team when he sprung the “I’m bouncing for Notre Dame” speech on them.  This is Tim Tebow’s final college game and it will be under Urban Meyer whose life Tebow has clearly changed.  (Meyer cried when describing Tebow’s impact on his life for Pete’s sake!)  Tim Tebow will be emotional, ready to end with a bang, and ready to prove to the NFL that he’s worthy.)

The Cincinnati players are ready to back up the talk they gave to the media after Brian Kelly broke them down with the Notre Dame news.  Mardy Gilyard was the most vocal when he basically told the press that the players made the plays and they were going to show Brian Kelly that they don’t need him.

Here you have a clash of the titans with a team ready to usher out one of their greatest players with a win and a team angry and ready to spit nails.  I still don’t think Tebow was “all there” during the SEC Title Game and I have no idea if he’ll be “there” on New Year’s Day, but I DO know that he has a lot to prove and he’s a fighter.  Disgruntled players (like the ones at Cincinnati) play well in spurts, but I don’t know if they can overcome such a good player as Tebow when they are playing purely on emotion (emotions they’ve had bottled up for about a month.)  I don’t think it’s wise to try to beat a team as good as Florida like that so I’ll have to take Florida because the spurts of emotion you get form Cincinnati will not be enough for a very good/well-seasoned/veteran team like the Gators.

Tim Tebow is a life-changer and though he did not deserve to be in New York for the Heisman ceremony he is STILL a great player and over-looking him is a bad deal.  Remember, the Crimson Tide had to stop HIM in order to win the SEC.  Nobody else, just Tebow.  That says a lot. and I’m not tangling with a dude like that, are you?

Tune in Thursday for the picks for the final week of the NFL Regular Season, a look at how the playoff races will shake out (yes, I figured out all the tiebreakers by myself) and what that means for the race to the Super Bowl…as always, love me or hate me at genxxlgeneral@gmail.com

Joy!

The Patriots don’t seem to take any joy in anything.  I mean, I’ve watched ALOT of ESPNEWS and seen plenty of Belichick and Brady Press Conferences and they’re all the same.  Just picture it:

Belichick is up there and they just won 59-0 (like they did against the Titans this season) and he’s talking about something he feels like he needs to mope over that happened during the game.  He’s always stewing over something and clearly never happy about much of anything.  He always sighs before he answers every question.  I mean, it’s like a deep and heavy sigh.  (I should know because I sigh ALOT and my wife hates it!…but that sound really gets my attention and he makes it all the freaking time.)  So, he sighs heavily before answering every question and then he gives the “Phil Jackson-in-between-quarters-non-answer/answer” for every question and then when they tell him “Thank You” he grunts and walks off.

Then Tom Brady gets up there is a crisp suit and tows the party-line like no one ever has in the history of the universe.  (All the while he’s giving that fake “Tom Brady-I-want-to-be-a-model” smile and he never answers any questions and gives the same kind of “grunt” that Belichick gives after every question.)  I can’t stand it!  You can tell that he’s so apathetic to the idea of talking to anyone and having to put on the fake smile AGAIN that he can’t stand it YET he continues to do it and play “Tiger Woods” and pretend to be somebody he’s not instead of being “Tom”.  I mean, if he really acts like this when Giselle bore his child was he like “Ok” *with the shoulder shrug…and in the suit*?  I personally don’t get it.

Take that lack of joy one step further outside the NFL.  Junior Seau was so sour about “graduating” from the San Diego Chargers that he joined the most sour team in the entire league.  THEN, he retired again and he was so miserable over that that he unretired and came back to the only team that was a grouchy old sourpuss like him.  What about Rodney Harrison?  He’s doing commentary on the NFL and he STILL sounds like he’s angry about getting pwned by David Tyree in the commission of one of the most outstanding plays in the history of sports.  I mean, if you asked him about anything remotely related to a safety/receiver pass play then he would probably find a way to sneak in the fact that he thinks David Tyree somehow cheated when he clutched the ball against his helmet in a sheer “Act of God”.

This same “sourness” I have already chronicled on this column multiple times by comparing the Patriots to a fictional family helmed by a psychopathic serial killer.  Really, do I need to say more?  The Patriots are NEVER happy and they NEVER will be.  They take no joy in anything.  The chants of repeat after their first Super Bowl title only spurned them to think about how they could realize that dream instead of living in the moment.  You can tell.  They’re STILL stinging from losing the Super Bowl to the Giants and we’re already two seasons removed.  How long before they snap out of it?

Now turn your attention to the Colts.

Jim Caldwell (or Tony Dungy) and you see a team that smiles a genuine smile every week.  Even at a loss Peyton Manning will stand at the dais (he hasn’t had to do this yet this season, but they’ve lost before so you get the idea) and smile as he recounts the disappointment of a loss and recounts how they will live to fight another day.  Each player on that team seems to truly enjoy football and their leaders do especially.  Think about Tony Dungy and how he handled himself with the team.  He never raised his voice, he was very reserved, and smiled in the face of victory and defeat.  Look at Peyton Manning…they STILL run the commercial on the 4-letter network with him and Eli walking down the hall kicking and pinching each other.  That’s TRUE joy at the game and the OPPORTUNITY to play the game.  Both Manning boys have Super Bowl Rings, but each one also knows how truly fortunate they are to be playing the game, to be filthy rich, and to be potential Hall of Famers.

Look at someone like Jeff Saturday.  He’s the key cog in one of the best Offensive Lines in the history of the league and he went undrafted.  Do you think he ENJOYS playing?  Yep.  He can handle a loss because he knows there’s more to life than football…

…and there we found the problem.  Vince Lombardi said “Winning isn’t everything…it’s the only thing” and while that may be true in professional sports these players for the Colts (and their coach) also know that the only thing in life is NOT football.  Yes, the Colts have won less Super Bowls than the Patriots, but what good are those titles if you didn’t enjoy them (and I really don’t think the Patriots enjoyed ANY of theirs [maybe the 2002 win over the Rams, but not the other two)?  What good does it do you to kill yourself to be really good and not enjoy the fact that you get to play in the NFL?  I have a brother-in-law who plays college football and though he will probably never play in the NFL (as cool as that would be) he still enjoys football.

So, what is the mantra for the Colts right now?  Well, first is:

“Shame on us if we don’t shoot for 16-0 and ultimately 19-0″

and second is:

“We all have to go home after the game.  What are we going home to?”

Now think about the difference the joy would have made in our perception of the Patriots.  If they had at least ENJOYED what they were doing we would have probably written off “SpyGate” and said “Oh, those guys are so great…they’d never cheat!”  However, since the Patriots are sullen and curmudgeonly then we all immediately assumed they were cheating and cheated their way to a Super Bowl victory.

Would you believe it if someone came out and said the Colts had video tapes of the Bears walkthrough before they beat them down in the Super Bowl?  No, you wouldn’t.  Don’t lie.  Nobody would.  You know why?  Because the Patriots MADE themselves into the bad guys by not enjoying the game and the Colts made themselves into the good guys by enjoying the game that makes them filthy rich.  How much more insulting can you get than to not even enjoy a game that so many people care so much about AND get paid millions of dollars for it?  I don’t know how Patriots fans stand it!  I really don’t.  (But fandom is a whole other story and some of us can’t really explain why we care so much about the teams we love.)

So, that’s the difference.  The rivalry of the decade in football between the Colts and the Patriots will always be won, for me, with the Joy the Colts seem to take in the game whilst the Patriots seem indifferent.  (You want to know the sad part…I think the Pats enjoy football, but their coach doesn’t.  So for all his Championships and a bust in the Hall of Fame he has little to show for it.  Look at the locker room revolt that’s going on now and tell me those guys care about him as much as they care about their teammates.)  In 20 years the Patriots 2007 offense will be toasting champagne because no one broke their single-season scoring records, but Bill Belichick will be nowhere in sight (unlike the ’72 Dolphins who ALWAYS have Don Shula with them.)  They will have found the Joy(too late) that could catapult the Colts to a Super Bowl run similar to what the Patriots have already had.  Is it hard to imagine?  I don’t think so…

Read after the jump for my take on Urban Meyer’s resignation…

I had just written the opening of this column when I started checking e-mail and I was met with the headline “Florida Coach Shocks College Football With Decision” and I read to find out that Urban Meyer resigned as Head Football Coach at the University of Florida citing health concerns.  I have two problems with this, but first my disclaimer:  If he is TRULY concerned about his health he would have made this decision alot sooner (and certainly before Charlie Strong took the Louisville job, but I won’t begrudge him the reason…I’m just not buying it.)

Problem #1: Tim Tebow is just about done (actually he’s been done since the blow to the back of the head he took at the beginning of the season) and he’s only got one game left.  Tebow’s been at Florida for 4 of Meyer’s 5 years and contributed to both championships that Meyer has won at Florida.  Now, do you think (just a little bit) that Meyer looked around and said “Tebow’s gone and I can’t replicate this.  I made some waves with Alex Smith at Utah but that was all luck.  Now, we just got our behinds handed to us by Bama and I’m going to come back WITHOUT Tebow?”  I think he did.

The health thing is a really good excuse (and probably valid) but it’s awful convenient don’t you think?  This is too rich for me.  Way too rich.

Reason #2: Charlie Strong took the Louisville job a couple weeks ago and I’ll bet you anything that Meyer had already made up his mind.  I also believe that Charlie Strong has had a hard time getting a head coaching job because he’s black, in the south, and married to a white woman (and I can say that because I’m from the south myself.)  Now, Charlie Strong goes to Louisville and THEN Meyer resigns?  I think this points to an obvious lack of consideration for Strong that (in my opinion) extends this long streak of prejudice and bias that Strong has had to deal with in the South.  He had been waiting for the Florida job too (and like Johnny Dawkins with Duke Basketball) he got tired of waiting only Coach K didn’t resign two weeks after Dawkins left.  Urban Meyer might as well have punched Charlie Strong in the face and poked him in the eyeballs “Three Stooges” style because that would have produced the same effect as letting Strong leave and THEN resigning.  If I’m Charlie Strong I’m really tempted to get a plane ticket and go down to Gainesville to whoop Meyer’s tail right here and now for totally messing with me over a job that I could have had had Meyer been even remotely considerate of me.

This speaks volumes, I think, to Meyer’s conceit and arrogance.  Yes, the Spread Offense really helped, but in the end it was Florida’s defense that stopped all those teams they were blowing out and in the end Charlie Strong was the constant at Florida…not Urban Meyer.  I’m not sure we can fully quantify how arrogant Meyer is given that he chose this time of year to resign.  Right before the meat of the bowl season ON THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS!!!  Did he think it would be rude to give this to Charlie Strong as a Christmas present?  I mean, I’ve never gotten a punch in the face as a present, but I do enjoy getting my Christmas presents on Christmas Day.

Meyer thinks he’s the Big Show and he can retire (for now) and come back in a couple years in a blaze of glory.  I’ll be just as ticked off as I am now and I hope he takes his dream job at Notre Dame (like Brian Kelly will last) and gets his tail whooped by whoever Charlie Strong is coaching (who knows…it could be Florida yet.)  Knock, knock Urbie…Charlie Strong won you two titles and you should be glad.  How about a thank you instead of a slap in the face?

Shame on you Urban Meyer.  You timed this SO well and hardly anyone will question you…but I will and I hope others do to, because we can’t deny that you just screwed Florida, Charlie Strong, and your integrity.

General’s Note: As of December 27th Urban Meyer is now said to be on indefinite leave as opposed to being fully resigned.  This raises a lot of questions and the biggest, I think, is why all the back and forth?  Is all the backlash of “Please don’t leave” really getting to him?  It’s definitely nice to be wanted, but why go back on such a big decision now?  Is he torn because of his health, because of Tebow, because of Charlie Strong?  He’s clearly confident because his star D-Coordinator is gone to Louisville and he still wants to do this without Tebow, but I’m not sure anymore what’s going on in his head.  I still think there’s some odd timing to this and though I find it suspicious I am starting to think that he’s one of those guys who just CAN’T stop coaching (which is good…look at JoePa still going strong at 83.  Urban’s only 45 so that gives him another 38 good years if he wants to be like ole Joe.)  Maybe his wife told him it was time to quit and now he’s going back to her and saying “Babe, I can’t do that right now.”  Either way it seems he’s torn about many of things.  This turn back towards Florida tells me that Urban is a little tougher than I thought (and I thank the good coach for proving me wrong.)

In my estimation he wanted to hang it up, but his heart told him no.  If his heart is as big as this change of events implies then he will go down as the best and not a “Tebow-induced blip” like I thought.  Only time will tell.

Tune in Monday for more from the General!

“Go” was one of the first professional wrestlers to join the original Ultimate Wrestling Federation {UWF}. In 1989, “Go” started an organization called “Pioneer Senshi.” It was the first independent wrestling organization in Japan. He wrestled for several organizations as a freelance wrestler, including “New Japan” and WAR. “Go” won the World Wrestling Federation’s {WWF} Junior Heavyweight Title in 1979, in Osaka, Japan. He defeated Tatsumi Fujinami to win it and then lost it, a few days later.

“Go’s” record as a professional wrestler is as follows…

IWE (71-78)
New Japan (78-84)
UWF (84-86)
All Japan (87)
Pioneer Senshi (89-90)
Oriental Pro (90-92)

The International Wrestling Enterprise {IWE} was founded in 1966 and was ended in 1981. The Ultimate Wrestling Federation {UWF} is still active. New Japan is a major professional wrestling promotional organization, in Japan. It was founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972, and is one of the largest pro wrestling promotional organizations in the world. WAR is another professional wrestling promotional organization, that was founded and operated by Genichiro Tenryu. He is the successor to the “Super World of Sports” organization, that was started in 1992 and ended in 2000.

“Ryuma Go” died on October 18, 2009 of sepsis (blood poisoning due to pathogens or toxins in the blood). He was 53 years old. “Go” you’ve joined your matchmaker. Now, “Go” win that big bout, in that RIP arena far away.

The Phillies made a pretty shrewd deal in a 3-way trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Mariners but brought Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays to the Phillies.  Here’s the deal…Cliff Lee is one of the best pitchers in Baseball…so good for the Mariners because they already DON’T suck anymore, but now they totally don’t suck because they have Felix Hernandez AND Cliff Lee.  I think they just got the Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels’ attention.

However, Cliff Lee played extremely well for the Phillies so on one hand you could easily say that the Phillies are stupid to move Lee for Halladay because Halladay is looking like a vigilante right now.  However, as I just said, Lee is not as good as Halladay.  Halladay is one the best to ever do it.  Period.  This dude’s already in the Hall of Fame and he has yet to face non-DH teams consistently.  Imagine what he’s going to do to teams that have to bat their Pitchers all the time?  I think that equals destruction.

Then, John Lackey took a walk from L.A. to Boston and the Red Sox made a big score getting another big Pitcher.  Lackey left the Angels…but why?  Does he think he has a better chance of winning a championship in Boston than he does in Anaheim?  I would bet that he does considering how the Angels have been faring in the playoffs lately.  I’d hardly think that I could count on the Angels in the playoffs right now.  Moreover, the World Series they won was kind of a fluke because they sort of tripped on their “elite” status and though they play well during the regular season they are looking more and more like the Braves every season.  (Mind you, that isn’t ALL bad, but I did just break up with the Braves…my hometown team.  So, it IS possible to outstay your welcome even if you are winning on a consistent basis because, as we saw in Atlanta, all good things must come to an end.)

Now that I’ve spent a couple hundred words trashing the Angels I need to bring up their signing of Hideki Matsui.  This guy was the MVP of the World Series just a couple months ago and now he’s jetting New York for sunny Los Angeles.  Frankly, I don’t get it.  I mean, I get it if you’re the Angels because they lost Chone Figgins and they need to make a move, but what about the Yankees?  They’ve got all the money in the world and they didn’t want to keep this guy?  This is one where I have to ask myself…”Does Brian Cashman know something I don’t, or is he a complete idiot?”  Only time will tell, but we know two things  1)  Hideki ain’t no spring chicken, and 2)  He just had the best season he’s ever going to have.  So, if you’re the Yankees you let him go now thinking he’s only going downhill from here and if you’re the Angels you’re hoping he can pick up where he left off.  For my money I think he’s got a few more good years left in him, but nothing like what just happened.

Then, the Red Sox picked up Mike Cameron.  Now, Mike Cameron doesn’t sound like a sexy move to make, but he just gets things done.  He hits when he needs to and fields pretty well.  His stats probably DO NOT back up what I’m saying, but he’s a solid player to add to an already very good Red Sox club.  I feel like I’m talking about Mike Cameron the same way I was lauding Derek Fisher to my buddy during Game 4 of the NBA Finals.  He kept asking me why D-Fish was on the floor and I said “He’ll hit a 3 at the buzzer everytime…even if he misses everything else he takes all night.”  Well, you know how many 3′s he hit that night and they basically won the Lakers a title.  I’m not saying Mike Cameron’s going to win the Sox a title, but I AM saying that he can help get them in good position during a really long season.  (BTW- can we work on shortening it already?)

Then there’s the Cards who are looking like they want to sign Matt Holliday to a long-term deal.  The number I heard today on the way home was 8 years and about $16 million a year.  That’s a $128 million contract.  Apparently, he’s been holding out.  Well, Senor Holliday, if you don’t sign that thing freaking immediately you are a freaking idiot because you know you’ll see every damn penny of that contract.  So sign it ALREADY!!!

Moving on to the All-Americans

Colt McCoy is definitely the best QB in the country…so no big deal.  Toby Gerhart and Mark Ingram (1 and 2 in the Heisman voting) work in my backfield….in yours too I would assume, wit Golden Tate and Jordan Shipley to throw the ball to.  Yeah, that works, and Aaron Hernandez (the only effective offensive player for Florida in the SEC Title Game) is perfect at Tight End.

Now, they put C.J. Spiller on the team as an all-purpose player.  I think that’s great since he’s got like 4 million runbacks for touchdowns and all these insane records concerning return distance and return TD’s, but then I hear someone say  that he could have easily been put on the team as a running back, and this brings me back to my original question from the Heisman ceremony:

Is the Heisman a career award or a yearly award?  According to the logic that C.J. Spiller should be an All-American Running Back you think the Heisman is a yearly award (because C.J. Spiller didn’t go to New York and he could have only won the Heisman based on career stats) and that also means that the #1 and #2 vote-getters (running backs) deserve the two running back spots because All-American spots are also yearly awards.  So, basically that logic is flawed.  He’s a great player, but he’s a flash, a slash…not a downhill everydown running back like Ingram and Gerhart…hence, they get the spots at RUNNING BACK!  Not wingback, not splitback, not slotback…RUNNING BACK!

Then we hit the defense where I think the NFL is about to be supplied with a GIRTH of massively good defensive players.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that the offensive renaissance we’re seeing in the NFL right now is going to die when all of these players hit the league and then hit their prime (Oooh, scary!)

Terrence Cody, Ndamukong Suh, Eric Berry, Rolando McClain, Derrick Morgan, Eric Norwood, Joe Haden, and Javier Arenas.  (And one of my favorites from last season who is not an All-American this season:  Major Wright from Florida.)  What do you think is going to happen to the NFL when all of these guys hit the league (all on different teams probably) and they are all anchoring a defense?  MAYHEM!  It only takes one to start a defensive renaissance on an NFL club (Ray Lewis was the first to get to Baltimore and DeMarcus Ware was the first to get to the Cowboys, etc.)  So, all of these Quarterbacks that we’re in love with are going to DIE when they try to tangle with these beasts.  I mean, these dudes are MONSTERS.  How in the world does anyone expect to stop them?  I know I don’t.

Monday Night…

There was an abomination wherein the Cardinals committed SEVEN turnovers in a loss to the 49ers.  I mean, I’m glad I was wrong because I really thought the 49ers were going to lose, but how in the world can the Cards play so well last week and beat the Vikings (of all teams) and this week they go in and play a sub-.500 team like the 49ers and get beat?  (And cough-up the ball 7 times.  Did I mention that?)  If they had only turned over the ball maybe 5 times they would have won, but 7 times?  How inconsistent can you be?

Kurt Warner’s so over it that he mentioned at his meeting with the press after the game where he said something like “I don’t know when we’re going to get over this one week on one week off thing.”  You know if he’s pissed then there’s a problem.  Kurt Warner doesn’t get mad (to my knowledge) and he certainly doesn’t take his gripes to the media (his wife does that, but I think she’s mellowed with age.)

Now, this doesn’t mean much, but the 49ers have the Rams and the Lions at the end of the season.  I can see how they might be able to sneak up on the Cards if the Cards stay inconsistent.  (It probably won’t happen, but stranger things have happened and probably will happen this season.)

(My Picks are coming soon so we’ll have to see how many crazy things I’m going to predict.)

And now…

The Browns want Mike Holmgren to be (I didn’t make this up) their “Czar of Football Operations”.  WTF is that?  I love Mike Holmgren…he’s a Hall of Famer, he’s got like 500 Super Bowl Rings, but why in the hell would you go to the Browns and try to fix that train wreck (and don’t you think a hard ass like Holmgren is going to get in there and the first thing he’s going to do is fire Doofgini?)  Doesn’t that compound their other problems (no QB, no RB, no Receivers, no Defense and no Special Teams)?  How would you even begin to fix the Browns?  They have nothing on the table at all.  I mean, at least my plan for the Rams to tank this season so they can draft a QB high makes sense because they have good players on their team, but there aren’t any on the Browns.  Wouldn’t you literally have to implode to stadium and start all over?

I’m reading their roster trying to find the good players on their team…here’s what I found:

Mohamed Massaquoi (who was better in college, but he’s pretty good now)

Robaire Smith is pretty good

and

Phil Dawson (one of the best and most tenured kicker/punters in the league)

That’s it….a VERY young Receiver with no QB to throw him the ball, an older D-Lineman, and a kicker.  So, you can run a good route, take up space, and kick the ball if it ever gets to you.  That’s the sum total of the Cleveland Browns. I’d ask to be the GM of the Browns, but my wife’s from Dayton and my Brother-in-law is a Steelers fan (and it’s cold in Cleveland this time of year.)

If you want that job you’re out of your mind and if they ever turn it around I will be so shocked.  I still don’t know how they went 10-6 a couple years ago.  Did they have pictures of their opponents with little boys or something because that season makes no sense.  Look at it:

2003 – 5-11

2004 – 4-12

2005 – 6-10

2006- 4-12

2007 – 10-6

2008- 4-12

2009 – 3-13 (probably)

I didn’t need to put the 10-6 record in bold italics to make it stand out, but you get the idea.  How in the hell did that happen and did that luck-ass season put them in the position they’re in now?  Yes, they would have fired Romeo Crennel after 2007 had it been bad and they would NOT have hired Doofgini and they wouldn’t have had to deal with the whole Savage thing and then they might be 7-9 or something like that.  Heck, with the AFC heading into the Doldrums like it is they could be playoff contenders (especially since the Ravens and Steelers have been losing such stupid games.)  It’s a damn shame really…I liked it better when the Browns were good and Bernie Kosar was the Quarterback by the lake.

There’s just one other thing

There’s this league called the NBA…you might have heard of it, and their Commissioner (this little short Hitler-wannabe) named David Stern just spent the last couple years vilifying Tim Donaghy for betting on games he was officiating.  (That probably wasn’t the best idea.)

THEN, this Donaghy guy claims the refs were steered toward calling fouls in favor of teams that were behind in Playoff series during tape sessions.  THEN, Hitler-wannabe comes out and says gambling probably isn’t that bad.  Huh?

I know the Maloofs are ALL OVER this because their family already owns the Palms and they could easily move the Kings to Vegas, but does David Stern think we’re all stupid?  I mean, he just spent forever and a day going OFF on Tim Donaghy and NOW he thinks gambling is ok?  All the more reason for me to think that the NBA fixes games.  Period.  I said it.  I think the NBA might be fixing games (and that’s a shame because I really want to think my Lakers won ALL of their titles legitimately, but I get real nervous every time I think about this…)

That’s all.  I think positing that a major sports league might fix games is pretty big.

Picks to come soon.  I had a bad week and I need a rebound BAD!

I got up early with a small child this morning and we were watching “Phineas and Ferb” (love that show…and I tweeted yesterday when I found #menshouldnever “#menshouldnever be afraid to admit they love cartoons.”)  So, we’re chilling and then this highlight package just for kids comes across from the 4-letter network and they’re showing Kobe drilling a bankshot against the Heat to win the game at the buzzer.  In the process of presenting the highlight the commentator says “LeBron is the King, but Kobe sure looked like one tonight” or something like that.  {Ok, let me get this straight.  Kobe has won an MVP AND 4 rings.  LeBron won an MVP he didn’t deserve and has NO rings (and is a bad sport) and he gets referenced during the highlight of a player who is better than him?  Ok, when did LeBron become the best player in league and when did everyone decide he owns the freaking NBA?  I can live with the constant references to JJ (I don’t call him MJ because he’a a jerk…so I go with Jerk Jordan (or JJ)) but I CANNOT live with the constant references to someone who can’t even shake his opponent’s hand when he loses, hasn’t won anything important (I was the first person to say Kobe’s 2008 MVP was worthless if they didn’t win a title), and looks more and more like the Bills or the Braves every season.  Here’s better copy for a highlight featuring a 4-time champion banking home a game-winner:

“Kobe’s already been the Most Valuable Player and for the Heat tonight he was the Most Vexing Player as he takes this outlet and….banks home the game-winner.. in Duane Wade’s face!  I think that’s how you do that folks!”

How hard was that?  You know, LeBron can be the best player in the league when he wins something.  People held off on JJ for years until he won a title (and rightfully so) so I think we ought to do the same with LeBron.  He’s leaving Cleveland at the end of the year anyways.  Why would we laud someone who claimed to love Cleveland so much and blah, blah, blah and then just up and leave at the drop of a hat?  Cleveland fans I think you need to hear this warning from someone who doesn’t pull for an Eastern Conference team and from someone whose team actually HAS the best player in the league on it (The Lakers).  LeBron is GONE at the end of this season and there is nothing you can do about it.  Having Shaq didn’t save you…if anything it will be stronger motivation for him to leave.  He’s a Yankees fan (and we know how the Yankees and their ilk are.)  Did you really think you could keep an egomaniac/baby/child/underachiever in Cleveland?  Come one people, let’s get real.  LeBron’s in it for the money.  It should have been apparent when his mama bought him a Hummer while he was still in High School with a loan based solely on his earning potential.  Didn’t like him then and I’m back to not liking him now.  He ain’t the best…and we all know it.  (On a side note…Magic is still better than JJ and I think most people KNOW that too, but they aren’t willing to admit it.  Actually, I’d say Kareem, Wilt, Bill Russell, and Jerry West were all better than JJ, but no one wants to admit that either.)

What about who’s the best in College Basketball right now?  Have you noticed something about Kentucky?  I mean, I know John Calipari probably did some stuff that wasn’t above-board, but you have to admit that they are living up to that high preseason ranking.  And that Wall kid that he brought with him to Kentucky?  He’s an animal!  John Calipari is clearly one of the best coaches in College Basketball right now.  We can say all day that Derrick Rose never took the SAT and that he stole this Wall kid from Memphis when he left for Kentucky, but he still has to coach these kids because they’re kids.  They’re children!  Someone has to tell them what to do, and he’s damn good at it.  Then again, so is Bill Self (who has nothing left form his title team and has Kansas soaring), Coach K (who continues to reload), Rick Barnes (who’s always right there at Texas), Thad Matta (who is doing very well for himself without Greg Oden and Mike Conley at Ohio State), Jamie Dixon (who is succeeding at a place like Pitt) and Rick Pitino (who ROCKS the white suit in Louisville.)  All of these guys have ups and downs, but they can clearly coach.

One person I left out was Billy Donovan.  He once ruled College Basketball with an iron fist and won 2 consecutive national titles.  Then Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey (he was the honky who could shoot) all left.  Now where is Florida?  Haven’t heard from them in a while have we?  That doesn’t mean Billy’s a bad coach, but it does mean that he got carried by an AMAZING starting line-up for two straight seasons.  Sometimes we overlook that.

You know something else we overlook?  How much trust we put in certain teams in the NFL…

The Steelers are the defending champs and when I was writing my picks for this week I barely even mentioned their Thursday game with the Browns because well, they were playing the Browns and the Browns suck.  I mean they’re the Steelers for Pete’s Sake!!!  How can they lose to the Browns?  Yet, they lost to the Browns anyways.  I wrote a couple weeks ago that the Bengals, Ravens, AND Steelers COULD all make the playoffs based on their schedules.  Then the Ravens go out and lay down and the Steelers lose a game to the Browns and both teams pretty much folded up their seasons right after I said that.  I trusted the two teams that played in the AFC Title Game SO much that I figured anything was possible and then they go and crap out on me.  Damn!

This brings up another point that goes to how we evaluate coaching in sports.  Has Mike Tomlin “lost” this team or are they just having a bad season?

Down here in the South people like to call for a coach’s head as soon as he gives up a touchback, but in reality it’s much smarter to give a coach a little time.  Mike Tomlin won a Super Bowl last year and this year he’s lost Troy Polamalu, the running game hasn’t really been there, Big Ben has been pretty banged up, and their OLine is iffy.  They ran into a bad year…that’s all.  I can guarantee you that the folks in Pittsburgh are mad that the title defense isn’t going that well, but I don’t think they’re calling for Mike Tomlin to be fired, for assistants to be fired, or for a myriad of players to be cut or traded.  He’s still one of the best, but he had a bad year.  He certainly isn’t going to win Coach of the Year, but we all acknowledge that he’s still one of the best coaches in the league.

That brings me to the event at hand…awarding the 2009 Heisman Trophy.  I’ll be back when the ceremony comes up and we’ll get started because this year’s Heisman campaign raises alot of questions that relate quite well to what we’ve already discussed……..

Here we go:

I love how they bring in the Gameday crew and they’ve got Lee Corso there and he’s holding a pencil like he’s going to take notes or something. Actually, I think he just uses it to point at people, but that’s just me.

Now they’ve got Bo Pellini and Jim Harbaugh there to stump for their guys. It’s nice that they’re there, but with a Pac-10 player in this era and a Defensive player there’s basically no chance of either one winning so it was nice that they gave their coaches a place to say “Hey, we’re here too!” Honestly, I’m most proud of Bo Pellini for not jumping up on his chair (Tom Cruise style) and screaming “They screwed us with that one second and you know it!!!” (That would’ve been entertainment!)

As Harbaugh talks and he’s referring to the final 4 games of their season that were basically won be Gerhart he mentions that you could look at any 4 game stretch over the past 2 years and say that Toby Gerhart had a great 4 games.  This raises the question…”Is this a yearly award or is it a lifetime-achievement award?”

Now they’ve got Ndamukong Suh up there and I love the fact that his name means “House of Spears”.  (I mean, isn’t that a cool meaning for your name?  Mine probably means “donkey trough” and this kid’s means “House of Spears”.  Damn!)  As he’s being questioned he just totally lied about the 1-second at the end of the Big 12 Title Game to be nice.  He even just said that they didn’t make a play to win.  Listen buddy, I want to hear your answer to that question when you’re in the NFL because I hope the truth comes out (i.e. “We were screwed by the NCAA!”)  Nevertheless, good for him for being nice.  He looks like a good kid.

Next up is Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow heading to lunch and eating sandwiches that even Suh couldn’t finish.  (It was a nice little segment though.)  I appreciate Tebow’s honesty in saying “I can’t tell you who I voted for even though I want to.”  You see, I don’t hate Tebow, I just don’t think he deserves the Heisman this year.  He deserved it in ’07 because he was THE MAN, but this year Mark Ingram is the man in my opinion.

So, they run a video package for Colt McCoy and I love how they are saying “W after W” and that makes me ask another question “Do wins matter?”  Like, if you are THE MAN but your team never wins does that make a difference?

For me, it does.  If you’re the best player in the ENTIRE COUNTRY then your team should be winning.  Now, your team doesn’t have to go undefeated, but you figure that if you’re the best then your team is winning and you are playing a pivotal role in those wins.  (This is why it’s hard for Defensive players to win and why I think Suh can’t win.  There aren’t enough stats for defense and the only ones we all know are Sacks and Interceptions.  That isn’t the whole picture in defense, but the other stats just aren’t sexy.)

Now they’re highlighting Tebow and what are they talking about?  Career stats.  Listen folks, I know this makes him sound great and he is a great player, but this is NOT a career award…it’s a yearly award.  It was cooler when you could only run his ’07 stats and say “Look how good this kid is.”  Now, it looks like you’re trying to justify the fact that he’s there.  Remember, I love Tebow, but he shouldn’t even be in New York this year.  (You know it, don’t you?)

Then how do they close with his interview?  ”Congrats on a great career.”  (I rest my case. )

Now they get to Ingram and since he’s a Sophomore guess what?  They’re talking single-season stats!  YAY!!  Then what do they talk about…his instincts.  I love how he can’t tell you yet how he hits the whole, but he just does it.  He’s all raw talent.  No wonder he broke the 66 yarder that sealed the SEC Title.  Now that’s what I’m talking about in a Heisman winner.  He’s good…period.  We don’t have to pump him up with stuff he did last year or the year before that.

Now Toby Gerhart is up and thankfully they are, once again, talking about skills and single-season stats.  Oh this is a kicker…he’s a Baseball star too?  Stanford baseball is GOOD!!!  I mean like they go to the CWS every year.  Ok, see that’s what I’m talking about.  No superficial stat crap…just “This kid is good, right?”

(And I think it’s funny that he talks like Rob Morrow [from my favorite show "NUMB3RS".]  I mean, how can I not like him now?)

Please pause for this boring Heisman trustee speech…………………..

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Ok, we’re back.

And the winner is…

Mark Ingram!  HOT DAMN!  Finally, I got one right…and the voters go it right too.  I don’t care that it was the closest vote in history.  The right guy won.  Now he’s crying and I don’t think he’ll be able to get it together (which is ok…#menshouldnever be afraid to cry like Mark Ingram just did because he’s so happy and overwhelmed.)

Congrats Mark Ingram.  Based on your response to winning and your willingness to wear your emotions on your sleeve I have decided that you will ANNIHILATE Texas.  Before I thought it would be bad, but now I know it’s going to be REALLY BAD for Texas.  Sorry Horns.  Ingram’s taking home the Heisman and a Championship this year…

We’re all set with the BCS bowl line-up and now all we have to do is wait to see how these games will shake out (and if Brian Kelly is going to Notre Dame.)

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Ohio State: Well, Ohio State’s in the BCS for the 5th time in a row and it’s about time they played a good game in the BCS.  Oregon is probably really happy to be here after they almost threw away their chance at the Rose Bowl against Oregon State.  Even though it’s the Pac-10 and the Big 10 I think this game can be really exciting.  Besides the fact that Oregon has like 60 different uniform combinations I think they can really get after Ohio State and sling the ball around and show the boys from Ohio how it’s done.

Hooooowever, Terrell Pryor has yet another chance to show everyone why they wasted their time watching his “I’m a High School Kid and I Should Just Pick a School” press conference.  This kid spurned Michigan to go to Ohio State and he hasn’t produced the way everyone thought he would.  He was supposed to be a college-aged Mike Vick crossed with Joe Montana with the swagger of Broadway Joe and all the Buckeyes have to show for it right now is a (relatively) disappointing season and questions upon question about whether this kid should be getting anymore hype.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think he’s ever going to be anything special.  This isn’t one of those cases where a kid doesn’t play in college, but he’s got a “pro” arm and he takes off in the NFL.  If Terrell Pryor is supposed to be able to move like crazy AND have a great arm then Ohio State should be blowing out everyone they play…period.  there’s no other way to put it.  I can’t imagine a situation in which Pryor comes on and puts up 350 yards and runs for another 75 or 100.  He’s past that stage by now.  He needs to be solid and portray himself as solid so that we will at least think he’s pretty good, because right now I think everybody (including me) is jumping on the “let’s dump Terrell Pryor” bandwagon.

Fiesta Bowl – Boise State vs. TCU: This is the game everyone didn’t want to see.  No one wants to see two teams from non-BCS conferences play each other in a BCS bowl.  We want to see them play big-time programs to see how they would fair.  Heck, Boise State pulled the “Statue of Liberty” on Oklahoma a couple years ago (and I thought that play only worked in cartoons!) and since then all the big-wigs (who were pounding their stogies over whether Nebraska was going to beat Texas) have decided that it’s easier to make these two teams sit at the kid’s table at Thanksgiving dinner when they CLEARLY deserve to be at the grown-up table.  I smell fear.

To the game itself…I really hope that this is a Holiday Bowl in the making…where each team kind of forgets how to play defense and they just shoot it out.  I’d much rather see a 52-51 game than a 10-9 defensive stand-off.  Plus, if they light it up and the ratings are through the roof then perhaps this MIGHT pave the way for other teams from non-BCS conferences to squeak into the BCS in future…we can only hope.

Sugar Bowl – Cincinnati vs. Florida: The real question here is whether Brian Kelly will be the coach at Notre Dame by the time this game happens.  It’s the biggest letdown in history.  Florida was going for all-time status and Cincinnati was trying to crack the BCS code without success.  If Brian Kelly goes to ND then the Bearcats have no chance.  If he stays in Cincinnati then they can easily beat Florida and really put their stamp on College Football going into next season.

Orange Bowl – Iowa vs. Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech gets another chance to cap off a very good season…this time in Miami against the Hawkeyes.  Both of these teams run the ball like crazy and it will be a power game, but I don’t think for one second that Paul Johnson’s club is going to fall victim to the letdown they had last year in getting hammered by LSU in their bowl game.  If a blowout happens it’s going to be GT blowing out Iowa.  They’ll hold the ball for a year and Iowa will be wondering what happened at the end of the game.  To think anything else would be foolish when you see how angry Paul Johnson can get…I’m just saying…

Join me after the jump for my NFL picks….YAY!

I’m 121-67 and NOT happy about it.  Between Green Bay deciding to be other-worldly against Baltimore, the Falcons laying down against the Eagles, and the Steelers losing to the Raiders I had a bad weekend…let’s just leave it at that.

Pittsburgh @ Cleveland: Ok, on Thursday night I’m hoping that I can trust the Steelers enough to beat the Browns.  Is that asking too much?

PIT – 13   CLE – 3

New Orleans @ Atlanta: It doesn’t matter that this game is in Atlanta because the Falcons are in a tailspin.  I tweeted right after they lost on Sunday that they could kiss consecutive winning seasons goodbye and a chance at the playoffs too.  Now, they get the juggernaut of all juggernauts in the Saints at home.  With Matt Ryan iffy and Michael Turner not in his 2008 form how am I to expect that this team can score against the Saints defense (which is VERY good) when they couldn’t put anything up on the Iggles?

The Saints, on the other hand, have to keep winning or they lose homefield in the playoffs.  With that in mind what do you think Sean Payton is going to say to his team?  Something like “Get out there and kill them!”?  Yeah, you’re right…the Falcons are dead.

NO – 45   ATL – 6

Seattle @ Houston: These are two confusing teams.  The Seahawks took my beloved 49ers out of the playoff hunt on Sunday and the Texans were looking good earlier this season and now they just look listless.  How does one explain the demise of the Texans and the sudden rise of the Seahawks?  Coaching?  QB play?  I think it’s both.  Matt Hasselbeck was the reason Seattle wasn’t winning (because he wasn’t playing) but when he plays well it seems everyone in Seattle plays well (even the Janitor) whereas it seems in Houston like everyone expects Matt Schaub to pass to Andre Johnson 500 times a game and that’ll be that.  As we’ve seen that is not enough to beat teams like the Colts and the Titans.  With the Titans coming on strong and Vince Young looking like a leader we have to expect that Matt Schaub step up and get his WHOLE TEAM to play better.

Seattle needs to keep pushing because they only have so much time left before they are going to have to do this thing without Hasselbeck (because one man can only last so long) and then what do they do?  If he’s the driving force in Seattle (and I think he is) then what are they going to do after he HAS to retire…because it will come down to that eventually.  Then what?  Suck for a year and then draft a QB in the top 3 the next year like St. Louis is going to need to do?  Man I hope not.  It kinda feels wrong when the Seahawks aren’t any good…you know?  They can’t catch the Cardinals…but they can at least make it look like they can.

SEA – 27   HOU – 24

Buffalo @ KC: This is one of those that I usually hate because it’s bad against bad, but now that Buffalo has a new coach it seems like things are looking up in the “Land of no Sunlight”.  {Did you know about SAD?  Seasonal Affective Disorder?  Where people get…sad…depressed because they don’t get enough sunlight?  And we thought it was because of the 4 Super Bowl losses in a row.}

Buffalo is actually getting something done now.  I remember when Dick Jauron fired his Offensive Coordinator right before the season started and that Coordinator came out and said Jauron was an idiot.  Anybody else remember that?  Well, it appears that the OC was right because as soon as they got Jauron out of there the Bills starting playing like they belonged in the NFL.  We haven’t heard from T.O. at all this season because the Bills haven’t really done anything so maybe now that they are looking up a little we can get some entertainment from Turrull.

Kansas City is just pathetic.  I’m not sure if Todd Haley is just hoping for this season to be over so they can fix this thing for next year, but they have issues all over the place and it seems like they will never get out of their own way.  They’re 3-9 and rank 24th or lower in all the major offensive statistical categories.  Yikes!  (And I thought the Raiders sucked.)  They’ve got Matt Cassel out there (who was a bad pick-up to begin with) and he is hurt.  Do I know exactly what’s wrong with him?  No, I have no idea, but I do know that he has something wrong with him that is making him play even worse than he normally would be considering the situation.  How in the world can I justify picking the Chefs when they just seem like they can’t do anything.  (Frankly, I’m surprised they’ve won 3 games!) {You know what’s worse?  They rank 27th or lower in all the major defensive categories…yeah…that’s the Chefs.)

BUF – 28   KC – 10

Green Bay @ Chicago: This is one of those gritty NFC Central matchups from the good old days where they play in freezing weather, snow, and sleet and never complain.  Well, that was back when both teams were good at the same time (which was all the time.)  Nowadays it seems that one team or another is in a funk.  Chicago’s 5-7 after everyone thought they got the “Steal of the Century” when they picked up Jay Cutler from the Broncos for Kyle Orton.  Everyone on Earth said they got the good end of the deal, but now the Broncos are in playoff contention and the Bears are sucking with a better QB than they had. Rex Grossman took this team to the Super Bowl a couple years ago.  REX GROSSMAN!  You know, “eye-liner boy”?  Now they’ve upgraded and they’re getting trounced by the Packers and the Vikings in their own division.  It’s pathetic really.

The Packers decided on Monday Night that it was time to play well against the Ravens.  Right after I had posited that 3 teams from the AFC North could make the playoffs the Steelers lose to the Raiders and the Ravens lose to the Packers.  I’m not shocked that the Packers won, but the way in which they won was so indicative of why I had them in the middle of my “Hourglass Theory” to begin with.  You never know what you’re going to get with this team.  Aaron Rodgers looks like Joe Montana one week and Tony Eason the next.  He just needs to make up his mind.  If he decides that he wants to be good on a more permanent basis than he could easily become a Superstar in this league.  That’s the kind of potential he has…but sometimes he doesn’t show it.  With the Packers in the playoff hunt maybe Aaron can get in the playoffs and show what he’s made of.

GB – 31   CHI – 10

Jets @ Tampa Bay: The Jets disappointed me so greatly when they started losing for no reason and then I didn’t know what to think of them, well now I know.  They’re 6-6 and they’re under a rookie head coach and a rookie QB…of course they were going to be inconsistent!!!  (Stupid, stupid, stupid!)  I fell all in love with them and I was like “Mark Sanchez is the man!” and I totally forgot that at some point we’d see all the “rookieness” (because the seasons that Joe Flacco/John Harbaugh and Matt Ryan/Mike Smith had last year ARE complete anomalies.)  Well, the “rookieness” came out and the Jets sit at 6-6 in a very winnable division.  They’re tied with Miami and the Patriots are only 7-5 (the Mitchells are having a bad Thanksgiving dinner) so who’s to say that they can’t pick it up and get it together?  I’m not gonna say they can’t…not yet.

Tampa is just bad.  I’d feel bad for Raheem Morris, but he fired his Offensive Coordinator right before the season started so he pretty much brought this on himself.  He’s probably wishing he had Bruce Gradkowski right now because at least Gradkowski is doing something right in Oakland.  We could sit here all day and go over every single little problem that Tampa has, but at the end of the day they just flat stink and I have no inclination to pick them anytime soon.

NYJ – 17   TB – 0

Miami @ Jacksonville: Now this is a good one.  Miami is trying to stick with the Jets and Patriots in the AFC East and the Jags are trying to hold their “stiff arm” out to keep the Titans behind them so each team has alot to play for.

I talked last week about hearing the Jacksonville broadcast of their games and how the broadcast team was all over them about EVERYTHING.  Well, they need to stay on them because Miami is coming to town with a newly-confident Chad Henne.  They haven’t abandoned the “wildcat” but when Chad Henne throws the ball 52 times in one game you know that the “wildcat” got put on the back-burner.  Add that to Ricky Williams running the ball like he did when he won a Heisman at Texas and you HAVE to believe that the Dolphins are really dangerous.

The question then comes down to Jacksonville’s defense.  Here’s my problem:  Jack Del Rio is a Defensive guy.  His team bailed on him last season.  We’re getting late in this season.  If something goes it will be the defense first because he has his hands in that more than anything else.  How long before the Jacksonville defense checks out?  With only 4 games left to play they need to get on that or Jack might actually keep his team together (but I don’t buy it…there are leadership issues there and I think that’s what the broadcasters in Jacksonville are REALLY complaining about.)

MIA – 30   JAC – 14

Cincinnati @ Minnesota: Mwa hahahahahaha.  I love this one.  This time last year this would have been the “sigh game” to end all of them.  This year it’s the leader of the North divisions in both conferences.  How cool is that!?  Minnesota has to keep winning so they can keep the Saints on edge knowing that they will also have to keep winning.  Cincinnati cannot show any blood at all or the Steelers and Ravens will smell it from a mile away.  So what are we to do?

The way I see it the Vikes have playoff “positioning” issues and they also have to keep winning whereas the Bengals can afford a loss here or there because the chances of them getting caught by the Ravens and/or Steelers is pretty small.  I like the Cinderella story that is the Bengals, but I’m torn because I know how badly the Vikings need every game and how focused Brett Favre is right now.  Both defenses are good, both offenses are good, but the Vikings NEED it more…so I have to go with want.  When it gets this late in the season in a game as violent as football you have to go with animal instincts at the end of the day.

MIN – 45   CIN – 35

Detroit @ Baltimore: Baltimore just took a bad loss to the Packers when they really needed to pounce on the Steelers’ loss from Sunday to the Raiders and they crapped out.  Detroit just isn’t any good.  This is one of those where the Ravens get lucky because of the schedule and get the right team at the right time.  What can I say (I know what the Steelers are saying…”Those lucky bastards!”)

BAL – 28   DET – 7

Carolina @ New England: This one’s hard because the Panthers are coming on strong late in the season and the Patriots are having (by their standards) a pretty crappy year.  Carolina’s 5-7 and New England is 7-5.  From where I’m standing it doesn’t seem like there’s much difference between the two records.  The two teams are massively different though.  The Panthers CAN run the ball when they are “with it” whereas the Patriots have troubles running the ball (which is bad with Julius Peppers and all the other beastly threats on the Panthers defense.)  The Patriots can pass the ball, but more to Wes Welker in possession situations than to Randy Moss.  (This is the part where I say that we have seen the best of Randy Moss and it is all downhill from here.  For one thing he just isn’t the same.  Second, he’s still the lazy guy who walked off the field in Minnesota before the end of a game, and third he’s playing with Wes Welker who is the best possession receiver in football and if he keeps it up he’s going to the Hall as such.)

With Carolina becoming united and the Patriots looking divided (that’s why I like the comparison to the Mitchells) then I have no choice but to pick the more united team.  (Like I said, animal instincts mean alot this time of the season.)

CAR – 31   NE – 21

Denver @ Indy: I know I said the Colts would drop a game, but then they beat the Titans (who really needed that win) and now I’m starting to reconsider.  Jim Caldwell is a Tony Dungy disciple, but I think he’s a little different.  I saw Mike Ditka on the 4-letter network say that if someone isn’t trying all the way to the end of the season to be undefeated then “shame on them”.  You know what?  I think that resonates with someone like Jim Caldwell.  I think he’s a little harder-nosed than Tony Dungy and I’m starting to think they’re going for it.

Denver is coasting at this point in the season with a shot at the playoffs.  They’re 8-4 and if the season ended today then they’d be a wildcard.  Honestly, I’m interested to see whether they can catch the Chargers (who I still don’t buy…yeah, it’s the Norv Turner thing) and I bet they can do it.  Now the question is…will they help their cause by ending Indy’s undefeated run?

No.  In short, Josh McDaniels is firey and not entirely like his mentor Bill Belichick, but I think he’s smart and he’s trying to hit a home run at this point in the season when there’s still 4 games to go and he has a 2-game cushion on anyone who would jump up and challenge for a wildcard berth.  Because he’s sitting back a little and waiting for the game to come to him I think the Colts will just take and it’ll never get that far.  Now it’s a coaching decision.  (Kind of like betting on pre-season football…you bet on the teams whose coaches you KNOW want to win even if it’s a preseason game.)  Here, I KNOW (at least I think I do) that Jim Caldwell is going for it and Josh McDaniels is not.

IND – 38   DEN – 27

Washington @ Oakland: Oakland may have had some business beating the Steelers last week, but the Redskins had no business being in overtime against the Saints.  I think it speaks more to the nature of the game than any goodness the Redskins exhibited.   Oakland is coming on strong and what better way for them to keep it up than to play the Skins…yep…those lucky bastards!

OAK – 24   WAS – 9

St. Louis @ Tennessee: The Rams suck…the end.

Tennessee needs to keep winning so they can go 9-7 and try to jump into the playoffs.  It would basically kill this run they’re on if they lost to the pathetic Rams (who need to keep losing so they can rebuild anyways.)  Come on Vince…you can do this!

TEN – 31   STL – 3

San Diego @ Dallas: Two teams I don’t buy at all.  Mathis (the Cowboys) started to show his colors by losing to the Giants in a game he should have won.  (I’m just waiting for the Chargers to collapse by the way.)  So, I’m not sure who to go with.  Do I pick the team that I’m afraid to get killed by or the team that I just dislike?

I’ll take dislike thank you very much…(and LDT.  He was never the problem for me to begin with…just the Norv Turner thing.)

SD – 35   DAL – 28

Philly @ Giants: The Giants snuck up and beat the cowboys last weel, but can they honestly sneak up on teams in their own division two weeks in a row?  I don’t think so.  The Giants are ok, but they’ve figured out what to do with Mike Vick and that makes them dangerous.  The Giants have a traditional look in Eli Manning to Mario Manningham…that may not be enough.

PHI – 31   NYG – 21

Arizona @ San Francisco: Well, since my 49ers are out of the playoffs and the Cardinals have been in the playoffs (for me anyways) for quite a while then it makes sense to pick the Cards.  Kurt Warner’s the man…not Alex Smith (I’m sorry to say.)

ARI – 27   SF – 13

Tune in Friday (maybe Saturday..with the Christmas season heating up who knows…) for my thoughts on the week in sports as we grow closer to the end of the NFL season and into the heart of the NBA season…

Reflecting on the weekend that was in sports I’d have to say that I learned a few lessons about sports and I’m going to share them with you today…not because I think you don’t know them, but just in case you don’t know them (or at the very least so you can laugh at me for not knowing this sooner. Come on, I’ve got to be entertaining here!) The lessons were hard, sometimes painful, amusing, horrifying, and sobering all at the same time. It’s not every weekend in sports that you have everything blow up in your face all at once AND learn why you have the allegiances you have…I learned a lot about myself this weekend. Let me share:

The SEC Title Game was COMPLETELY outside the realm of “we’ve got this pinned down” like everyone thought they did and I LOVED it. I picked Bama because I thought that all the pundits who said “take Tebow out of the game and Bama wins” were right. However, I only picked on the possibility that they MIGHT be able to slow him down or something. I spent a lot of time this weekend talking about how 3 teams from the AFC North could make the playoffs…not because I am 100%-bet-my-life sure about it, but I am certain that the possibility exists.

So, the possibility of Tim Tebow being human was intriguing and I thought if anyone could make him look human it was Nick Saban. Let’s face it…Urban Meyer and Nick Saban are the two best coaches in college football: Followed closely by Chris Petersen, Gary Patterson and Brian Kelly. No one earth can argue that. There are other good coaches, but these are the best. Well, when you call Nick Saban the best you also have to realize that he is a Defensive guy and that means he can do just about anything with his defense to stop someone. Honestly, I thought maybe they’d just slow down Tebow and outright stop him, but stop him they did.

I learned, in no uncertain terms, that defense DOES win championships. That was the epitome of a defense stepping up and saying “If we stop this guy their offense stops and we win.” The Tide knew that with Deonte Thompson and Percy Harvin that Tebow wouldn’t have all the outs he used to have and that would give him problems all day. They were ready for the dive plays that Florida had to start running after Tebow’s concussion. They were ready for the quick outs and they adjusted at halftime to all the passes that Tebow was able to get off to Hernandez. In essence, they shut Florida down after they figured out what Florida was doing…that’s why all 13 points the Gators scored were scored in the 1^st half of that game.

I have to say that I was a little shocked by the 32-13 final score because I thought Florida had something left in the tank to make a comeback, but when Tebow threw that interception in the endzone I knew they were done. Mark Ingram had already broken a 66 yard run (prancing down the sideline to stay inbounds) and now this for the Gators? They just fell apart at the worst time. They had the “2007 Patriots we’ve won too many games in a row” thing hanging over their heads and the “Tim Tebow is a demi-god but will the Tide care?” thing hanging over their heads and it proved to be too much. The Bama saved the day by keeping the Bama offense on the field long enough to score 32 points. It’s that simple.

Another thing that I hope this game did was solidify that Tim Tebow will NOT win the Heisman this year. I’m still thinking he probably should’ve won it last year, because he was just that good last year, but this year he just hasn’t been the same. CBS got a good shot of him standing up after a tackle and he looked right into the camera and at that moment I tweeted “Look into Tebow’s eyes and tell me he’s 100% there.” He just didn’t look like he was all there which is a complete shame but he’s one of the best (but not the best) and not this year. If we’re looking for the best player in college football then we need to look to Toby Gerhart out at Stanford who probably won his team 3 or 4 games and Mark Ingram at Alabama. Ingram broke the run that sealed this SEC Title and he’s been solid all year. Gerhart won a few games for Stanford. If I had to pick one I’d go with Ingram because he was solid all year and now his club is on the cusp of a National Title (and he was better than Colt McCoy and Gerhart and Tebow.)

Speaking of being on the cusp of a National Title… the Longhorns almost lost to Nebraska (and I honestly think Colt McCoy let the clock run out and the NCAA gave Texas that one second as a gift. Did you see how upset Bo Pellini was? He should’ve been.

At any rate, Texas barely beat Nebraska (who Pellini has on the map, but not THAT on the map yet) and Bama just ran all over Florida. Do you mean to tell me that Texas can even put up a fight against Alabama? Honestly, if the Tide can come up with a way to stop a totally unpredictable QB like Tebow how in the world is a totally predictable QB like McCoy going to fair? Not very well I’m afraid. Unless there’s a catastrophic injury or arrest I’m picking it now. Bama – 30 UT – 13

You know what else I learned this weekend? Paul Johnson is a master coach. He’s got a bunch of kids who don’t really fit into his system that well and he’s running this insane triple-option and winning. Tech barely beat C.J. Spiller (I’d say Clemson, but the only thing they had was Spiller on Saturday) for the ACC Title and a berth in the Orange Bowl. At times I thought the Tech players were still a little agog about what to do in Johnson’s offense (and that’s because he doesn’t have a full group of “his guys”) and that leads to some problems. Plus, his defense doesn’t get the best looks during the week because they run such a weird offense. Imagine if he had ALL his own people in there and the defense learns how to adapt to the “not getting enough good looks” thing. How good is Tech going to be next year? WOW. I’ll tell you this…they got destroyed by LSU last year in their bowl game, but Iowa better look out because I think ole Paul’s got somethin’ special waitin’ for ‘em.

In the NFL I learned a few really annoying things and one eye-opener.

First, I learned that my Dad (a Falcons fan) doesn’t watch the Falcons. Wanna know why? He told me “Son, I don’t watch the Falcons anymore because when you were little I used to get so upset watching them that I’d literally be sick.” Now, I know a lot of you out there can understand that sentiment and since I’m 31 that also says how long the Falcons have been annoying my Dad. A LONG F****** TIME! With that said I learned something about the Falcons.

They aren’t lazy like I said they were a few weeks ago. No, they’re just snake-bitten. They’re on their way to a second winning season in a row (something they’ve never done) and Matt Ryan goes down and Chris Redman comes in and shines…then the next week they lose to the Eagles 34-7. That’s snake-bitten if you asked me. You get just close enough and them “BAM!” back to the mat you go. I can pick the Falcons to win games and playoff games all I want but I will NEVER pick them to win the Super Bowl unless they are the only team left in the league.

- I learned that the Saints are just about as invincible as you can get and we’re getting really close to an “undefeated Super Bowl” between the Colts and the Saints. (I don’t think Jim Caldwell’s going to let up like I predicted.)

- I learned that Pittsburgh wants to make my “3 teams from one division making the playoffs” scenario hard to do. Why in the hell did they lose to the Raiders? Was it Gradkowski? Blast! I praise him once and he screws a perfectly-well-thought-out theory.

- I learned that the Patriots have more chinks in their armor than I thought. (They really are the Mitchells!)

- I learned that the Titans aren’t perfect, Chris Johnson won’t be right about their record, but they still have an outside shot of making the playoffs.

- I learned that my 49ers are NOT going to the playoffs this year. I can’t say I’m surprised, but my expectations have risen significantly.

- I learned that I was right not to trust the Cowboys after they just handed a win to the Giants

- And we all learned that Brett Favre is not invincible and that Kurt Warner still has it too. The question is: Who cracks first of old age?

What Else Did The General Learn This Weekend?

Well, I learned some things about Soccer. (Keep in mind that I’m a Soccer-lover, always have been.) They drew for the World Cup and the U.S. got a “favorable draw”, but the U.S. hasn’t done anything in the World Cup since they beat England in 1966. Yeah…1996. As a reference point, my parents got married in 1964…that’s how old that news is. The best part about that “pivotal win” in ’66 is that they didn’t beat England for the Cup…they just beat England. I might’ve been able to do that myself…have you seen their Armada lately?

So, the U.S. has to get by England, Algeria and Slovenia. I turn on the 4-letter network and see Alexi Lalas flapping his yap about this. Apparently, a retired English “footballer” as they call them over there said that it wasn’t a worry because they were just “playin’ the Yanks” and Alexi Lalas took offense to that. Listen up Lexi. First, you never did anything on the U.S. team…Except have red hair. The only reason you play in Italy was because you were a spectacle, AND you know no one feared you back then. Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and all those guys are way better than you could ever DREAM of being…so shut up! PLEASE…shut up…

Overall, the French got screwed because they screwed the Irish to get into the Tournament and Argentina got a nice draw as well. The only team we’re not talking about is Brazil because they’re probably going to win the whole thing anyways. There you go…Brazil wins on aggregate 52-2 ;o)

You know, they played Basketball this weekend too…

The Lakers cruised to their 9^th straight win and maintained the best record in the league. The “best record” would seem to be short-lived because they’ve played a couple less games than some other teams and there are teams with really good records (Denver, Cleveland, Boston, Phoenix, Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta, etc.) At some point there will be some separation amongst the true contenders and the teams that “could only hang for a minute”.

I imagine the teams that won’t be able to hang forever are Phoenix (I like Alvin Gentry, but I just don’t see it), Dallas (they’re STILL reeling from losing the ’06 Finals after being up 2-0), and Boston (they’re old…that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!) That leaves Cleveland, Orlando, Atlanta, and Denver and my Lakers.

Personally, I have no problem with seeing Denver and L.A. in the West Finals again and I’d LOVE to see Cleveland and Orlando do it again in the East Finals (find out if LeBron learned anything last year.)

I don’t hate LeBron, but I do think he’s the Buffalo Bills/Atlanta Braves of basketball. He’s going to get 1 title or none. He’s a great regular-season player and he could conceivably win the MVP from no until the cows come home, but that doesn’t make him a champ (it didn’t make Steve Nash or Kobe champs.) When Kobe gave the offense (for the most part) then the Lakers cruised to a championship. If Danny Ferry ever finds someone for LeBron to give the offense up to then I’ll believe. Right now…I just don’t see that happening. Danny Ferry looks like he’s Pete Babcock right now…never going to get fired and nobody knows why he’s still there. They need to pay off his contract (or move him higher in the front office), pat him on the back, tell him “good job” and find someone who will fill this team with GOOD role-players. If Danny Ferry has to be Tony Dungy (like, Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay setting things up for Jon Gruden) then fine…but they need to do SOMETHING, because Shaq (refuse his cute little nicknames) isn’t working. He’s slow, fat and out of shape…and he has a bad hip. (Did I mention he’s 37? “Warren Moon played at 40”…I know, but Warren Moon took fewer hits than Shaq, is shorter than Shaq, and never had a bad hip.) I rest my case.

AI comes back tonight as a starter for the Sixers against the Nuggets (a.k.a. – the team that didn’t use him effectively) and after he cried at his press conference I’m really starting to think this can only go one of two ways:

You know how when they show the freak on American Idol that is all like “If I can’t express myself through music or I’ll die” the whole time you’re thinking “This is either going to suck beyond sucking or be some of the best singing I’ve ever heard”? You know? Yeah, that’s AI for me right now. He’s going in the Hall on the first ballot either way, but after “sobgate” he’s either going to come out with automatic weapons in each hand and take out everybody in one spray or he’s going to be awful and they’ll do a retrospective on the 4-letter network about the “AI that was”. (You know the ones they do like he just died even though he’s healthy and in his 30’s?)

I’m hoping for an AI breakout party today, but I can’t expect anything because he’s on a bad Sixers team and he’s playing Nuggets and you never know what you’ll get from them.

What can I say…I’m a little out of sorts. Check out The Smorgasbord Part 2 and see if I can get myself back on track with my picks.

Peace.

Who WOULD win in a fight between the Saints and Colts? I don’t mean to discount other teams that are playing very well (namely the Bengals and the Vikings) but all indications would point to a New Orleans/Indy Super Bowl that will be played outside in sunny South Florida (on my birthday no less.) Just imagine the scene with Peyton Manning and Drew Brees taking turns slinging the ball all over the place. Each team running because it looks good to have balance but only running so they can just throw the ball more. Each team’s defense standing back in awe saying “How in the hell do we defend against this madness?” Each team’s coach stalking the sideline in stoic grandeur as his team racks up points and then their opponent racks up points and they just take turns until the 60 minutes are up and one team doesn’t have enough time to make one more drive to score yet again.

If I had to pick who’s going to the Super Bowl right now I’d have to pick the Saints and the Colts because I think that they can be there (and pretty easily) but then I got into a debate yesterday with a friend over who would win the game and why. We were actually in violent agreement…I mean, we were talking about the same thing (and we had a teenager there who agreed with us too) but we were all taking different perspectives of the same argument…the Colts would win.

My buddy’s take was that Peyton can just control the game. He can come to the line of scrimmage EVERY DOWN and audible something somewhere to somebody and confuse the hell out of the Saints defense.

The teenager’s take was that Drew Brees is great but he has no experience running through the playoffs like we all think he’ll be doing this year. Yeah, it sounds great to say he would just sweep into the Super Bowl and take it home, but he has no experience DOING that and that will be his Achilles heel.

My take is simple…when Peyton Manning throws the ball it looks like he’s throwing downhill. Literally downhill. It’s as if he’s 20 feet tall and he’s pitching the ball down to the little ants on the field. You see, when Drew Brees slings the ball all over the field it doesn’t take very long, but when Peyton does the exact same thing it can take forever. My buddy’s right. Peyton can control the tempo of a game in a way that no other Quarterback since Joe Montana can. I know both teams would score a lot of points and it would be a bloody match, but in the end I just don’t think that the Saints would have enough time to score enough points to keep up with the Colts.

Now, you could take my words and turn them around on me and say “Well, if the Saints don’t take that long to score then they’ll just zip down the field and score a lot, get one stop on defense and the game is over because the Colts will take too long to score.” Well, that’s a really good argument and you’ve just totally blown up my theory…except for this one thing:

If Peyton Manning can control the tempo of the game that means he can go faster if he needs to. He can take 8 minutes to go 88 yards on a scoring drive or he can take 45 seconds. Therein lies the difference. Drew Brees only knows how to do it one way. Peyton Manning can do it all ways and all at once if necessary. Right now…I’m taking the Colts on tempo alone…but the score would be something like:

IND – 56 NO – 48

There’s a Real Fight Around the Corner Too!

You know, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao and I’m jazzed for this one. (Oh, I guess I should give you some background since I’ve never talking about Boxing here before.) I remember the old Tuesday Night Fights that featured smaller fighters (like Pacquiao and Mayweather) and this was on EVERY week. I remember when the Heavyweights were great and all, but everyone wanted to see Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns, and “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler more than they wanted to see the new breed of Heavyweights. I mean, even when Mike Tyson ascended to glory when he was but a wee tot the smaller weight classes didn’t suffer. Sugar Ray Leonard came out of retirement to fight Hagler and Hearns fought long past his prime, but everybody loved these guys and watched them constantly.

I have lamented to my Dad on NUMEROUS occasions the lack of good Boxing in the 90’s and 2000’s (the oughts…whatever) and everytime he says “Son, little fighters don’t sell anymore.” Now, you can argue for Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya and guys like that, but they weren’t transcendent. Not like Pacquiao.

I’ve heard some people talk about Roy Jones Jr. as one of the greatest pound for pound and I would agree, but he didn’t capture our attention. I mean, he also has a huge collection of Jordans, plays basketball, medaled at the Olympics, and fought in larger weight classes. He never captured our attention the way that guys like Leonard, Hearns and Hagler did. I wish he had, but he just didn’t. I can’t explain…I just know that’s the way it is.

Then comes along this Pacquiao guy. I remember thinking that Ricky Hatton (a salty Brit who is ALL “bruiser”. I mean, this guy walks around with scars from bar fights on him everyday, right?) was going to DESTROY a skinny little dude like Pacquiao. I mean, kill him like Drago did to Apollo Creed in “Rocky 4”. I mean, look at Manny Pacquiao and tell me that he looks like he’s a fighter anyways. He looks like Mark Anthony (only Filipino) and he SINGS TOO. THIS GUY CANNOT BE A PRIZE-FIGHTER! So, I went around all week before the Hatton/Pacquiao fight saying “This is Ricky Hatton’s day and Manny Pacquiao is going to die.” Then…

I watched the fight. Pacquiao looks like he’s jumping when he punches. No really, it’s like a video game. Remember “Double Dragon”? Remember how on that game all the kicks and punches shot your character forward on the screen and if you kept doing that you could push the bad guys off the screen? Yeah, that’s what Pacquiao does. He jumps forward when he punches and pushes you back to the ropes. I had no idea he was THAT powerful. Anyways, he beat the ever-loving mess out of Hatton and I was proven wrong. Then he fought Miguel Cotto and beat the hell out of him too. Now, we have this Mayweather/Pacquiao fight in the works and I love this conversation we have to have.

People all over the place are going to say that Mayweather is one of the best to ever do it and I would tend to agree, but how can you pick Mayweather to win a fight like this at 147 lbs. where Pacquiao is playing a video game and Mayweather is playing real life. This kind of disbelief in the power of Pacquiao has been proven to be unwise so many times that I don’t know how in the world you can say he will lose.

Listen, Mayweather’s going to flap his yap and he’s going to work like a dog to get ready for this thing, but at the end of the day he’s going to be sitting on the ropes right where Pacquiao put him with his “jump-punching” or jupunching if you like. I know they haven’t even really agreed on it yet, and Jerry Jones is trying to get the fight in Dallas, but this one need to go down at Caesar’s in Vegas like a fight of this magnitude should.

I even heard that each fighter might make $40 million of this thing. This could be the fight of the decade if it goes right…man I hope it does.

There’s Not Enough Fighting in the NFL…

Who would win in a fight between the Ravens and the Steelers? Both teams are 6-5, both teams are in kind of a funk (although Baltimore went a long way in getting out of theirs by coming back on the Steelers last week) but the Steelers were looking ok until they gave that game away against the Ravens. They’re going to have to do this all over again on Dec. 27^th and that may be the game that decides who gets a wildcard spot and who doesn’t. Yes, they’re still in contention with Jacksonville and Denver for the 2 wildcard slots in the AFC, but I really think that will be the deciding game in the AFC for one of the wildcard berths.

Who wins the fight? You want me to tell you? Well, given that the Steelers are having issues with Big Ben (he gets hurt a lot and now Dennis Dixon is filling in for him) and the Ravens have their team fairly well intact then I would have to pick the Ravens. Now, I did this last year for the AFC Title Game and the Ravens lost that one, but if I HAD to do it right now I’d take the Ravens just based on momentum and the current makeup of their team. (They’re using Haloti Ngata on power running sets on offense. For all that is holy!!! Tell me this isn’t true because if it is and the Ravens get in the playoffs and they meet the Colts this might be an issue for my whole Colts/Saints Super Bowl argument.)

I know I said earlier in the season that I thought it might be remotely possible for 3 teams from the same division (the AFC North) to make the playoffs and I guess it’s possible, but:

The Broncos are going to have to stall because they are currently at 7-4 and the Ravens and Steelers are currently at 6-5. I don’t know how that would all work since Denver gets to play K.C. and Oakland 3 out of their last 5 games (I mean, don’t those all sound like guaranteed wins?) Then again, the Ravens get to play Detroit, Chicago, and Oakland in 3 of their last 5 games and the Steelers get Oakland, Cleveland and Miami in 3 of their last 5. Don’t the Broncos sound like they have the easiest road to mess up my “3 teams from one division can make the playoffs” scenario? Yeah, they do. We also thought they were going 14-2 after they started so strong this season. Once again, that’s why I don’t bet on sports…

In the NFC it’s the Giants, Philly, Atlanta, Green Bay and San Francisco all doing a “Royal Cage Match” to decide who’s getting the two coveted wildcard spots. For me, it gets down to this. If the Falcons lose to the Eagles this weekend (which I don’t foresee, but I have been wrong…every now and then ;o) then the Falcons are done.

If the 49ers go on a tear and everyone else starts to falter they might have a chance (their chance would begin with the Falcons losing this Sunday to the Eagles.) Philly gets to play the 49ers and the Giants in their last 5 games so guess what Iggles fans? If you can win those two games you’re probably in…why? Because you’ll have the tiebreaker on the Giants PLUS the Packers have to play the Steelers AND the Ravens in their last 5 games. The Steelers and Ravens know there is a slim chance of both of them getting into the playoffs with Cincy ahead of them so they’re going to claw someone’s (the Packers) eyeballs out to get there. So, that means Green Bay is done…stick a fork in ‘em.

Who did that leave? My 49ers: Who I think can go on a tear and put themselves in the playoffs. They get Seattle, Detroit, St. Louis and a safe Iggles team in 4 of their last 5. Who’s the 5^th game? Against the Cardinals who they aren’t going to catch anyways…

So, there you have it. The General says:

The Steelers and Ravens take the wildcards in the AFC

And

The Iggles and 49ers take the wildcards in the NFC

Whew!!

Just one more thing…

You know Columbo would be asking himself “What if the Bama beats Florida and Texas loses to Nebraska on Saturday?”

You know what’s going to happen? Everything is going to be jacked to Jesus. Imagine the implications of a Texas loss and a Bama win. That means Cincinnati HAS to beat Pitt and then they have to pray like they’ve never prayed that the computers put them ahead of TCU in the final BCS standings. Both TCU and Cincinnati will have a case for why they should be in the Title Game. Those who like the current format will argue that the team with the tougher schedule should get in because they “played better competition” and those who hate this system will start screaming for a playoff so we can settle this thing.

Let’s say Cincinnati (on that day that would for SURE live in infamy) lost (like idiots) to Pitt. Then you have TCU (undefeated) and Bama (undefeated) playing in the National Title game.

Why have I not brought up the prospect of Florida winning the SEC Title Game? Well, it’s quite simple. If Florida wins the SEC Title all of this stuff would play out with Florida in Bama’s place. But…

If Bama wins and all of this other stuff happens who’s to say that the BCS wouldn’t just put Florida and Bama in the BCS Title Game and let them play ANOTHER rematch? Would you put that past the BCS? I wouldn’t. Not in a million years.

What’s more likely to happen? Texas wins and the winner of the SEC Title plays them in the BCS Title Game, but oh how I want this to get cosmically screwed up so badly. The image of sweaty college presidents pounding pack after pack of cigs trying to figure out where they went wrong is just too alluring for me to pass up.

With the Defense getting a complete overhaul this puts Georgia in a much better position than I thought they were a couple days ago.  (No one ever wants someone to get fired) but you can see how this helps Georgia in the long-term and it totally separates Mark Richt from the Bobby Bowden coaching tree…how?

Because Bowden-disciples tend to hold on too long to people, players, ideas, all of that stuff because that’s what Bobby did (I almost said does, but he’s out in Tallahassee) and that “holding on” tends to be their ultimate foil.  Not here.

Mark Richt decided he wasn’t going to be the deer in the headlights that needs to be told by his bosses to get rid of people (or his bosses at UGA move faster than T.K. Wetherell and the gang at FSU.)  Either way, Mark Richt just fixed this team for next season and now Georgia Tech is still going to have a fight on its hands.

Tech has been cutting (deeply) into Georgia’s recruiting here in the south [and especially in Georgia] and now Georgia will likely have a much nicer recruiting class than they would have before this move.  My only question is…where are they going to get a DC from?

Wherever they go they can’t possibly replicate what Brian Van Gorder did in Athens and all the good ones are taken.  This is why I was an advocate of shuffling the staff (and the whole I don’t like seeing people get fired thing), and I’m standing fast in that position because I know their team got better but how much better remains to be seen.

Clearly, Georgia can run the ball and they have talent all over the place so they SHOULD be fine, but right now are going to have to hold onto this “DC question” until it gets answered.  I can guarantee you that the Bulldog Nation will be all aflitter until it gets answered and then they’ll talk about it all offseason until we actually see the new defense play.  (Oh, and they’ll rag on Tech fans for the next 360 days.)

Bobby Takes a Bow…

Since we’re here we’ll talk more about Bobby Bowden and his exit from Tallahassee.  We all knew it was coming on Monday when I alluded to it in my column. I could go on and on about how I called this one early in the season, but I’m not that petty (close, but not quite) and I could go on and on about how people like Dick Vitale think it’s bad for an employer to have control rather than the employee, but now we’re getting into territory that is just driving me bananas.

Bowden wants play his last game in Florida (understandable) but in order to do that he’d have to play the Gator Bowl.  Well, the Gator Bowl is willing to take FSU, but they have get their choice approve by the ACC because other teams have a better record than the Noles.

What if you’re another team who’s done better than them and you get screwed out of a better bowl game?  How is that going to sit with a college president who’s only thought all day is about money…and you’re losing money on this whole “FSU gets a nicer bowl than you thing”?  I don’t think there’s going to be any niceties about this and if there are I’ll be SHOCKED.  Honestly, lawyers will probably be involved and ole Bobby will just take up more of our airspace doing more crazy mess.

Listen Bobby, I like your teams, I like you, but you don’t get to hold us all hostage.  If the only bowl that wants you is the Humanitarian Bowl then schlepp your old behind up to Boise, play on a blue field and be happy about it because hijacking another team’s bowl bid just because you want to play up the street from your house (that you bought with your ungodly salary) doesn’t mean you should just automatically get it because you “deserve” it or “earned” it.  Heck, the NCAA already decided you didn’t “earn” some wins because you were playing ineligible players and there was rampant cheating going on in FSU athletics (which basically means football.)  So, don’t give me this tired “pour Bobby act” because I for one…am over it.

I wrote that T.K. Wetherell was half a second from jumping across a table and choking you out.  I was only half-joking because I can’t imagine how pissed he’s been all season and how pissed he was when you said you were going to retire and then changed your mind the next day.  That wishy-washy mess only works in the NFL and it only works for Brett Favre and right now he’s the better looking of you two old men.  Got it?

Ok, I’m better now…  Join me after the jump for the college and NFL picks and thoughts

I don’t think it’s any shock that I’m picking the Championship and pseudo-championship games for this weekend, but I thought I should mention that only so many games mean anything this time of year…let’s start with one that isn’t a championship game in name, but it is in meaning.

The Defacto Pac-10 Championship Game Sponsored by Poor Planning

Oregon State @ Oregon: Because they’re doing this one is Eugene it’s just going to be that much more interesting because Oregon is the favorite and they’re at home so maybe they’ll have the “home-field advantage” but they’ll also have the “home-field pressure”.  Someone’s going to the Rose Bowl off of this game and someone is going to be monumentally disappointed (I mean, when in the future do either of these teams expect USC to screw up two different games like they did this year?)

With that said I’m not picking against the Ducks.  I’m not stupid.  I know they knew they had a chance at the BCS Title Game and they screwed it up, but still, they have the fight to get this done.  I just don’t see how this will go any other way…if you can make an argument against the Ducks I’d like to hear it.  The Ducks seriously Quack the Beavers…

The Defacto Big East Championship Game Sponsored by “We’re Not a “Big” Conference Anymore and We Know It”

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh: This is in Pittsburgh, but did you see Brian Kelly talking about the rumors that he’s at the top of Notre Dame’s coaching carousel wishlist?  He said it was irrelevant and that they’ve been working ONLY for a Championship and that the media can totally kiss his ass and screw around on their computers.  I LOVE IT!  Because he didn’t actually tell us (the media) to kiss his ass, but he said it in a way…you know?  A guy like that can do anything…I mean, anything.  I kinda like Dave Wannstedt at Pitt and I kinda want him to succeed (not be Norv Turner) but I don’t see it happening.  The Bearcats get their Cattitude all over the Panthers…

The Real SEC Title Game

Florida and Alabama: Florida has Tim Tebow…Bama has everybody else.  I don’t see how in the world the Gators are going to put one over on the Tide again.  I just don’t.  They’ve got a million NFL prospects playing defense at Bama and a Defensive Head Coach.  What else do you want from me?  An actual breakdown?  It’s not coming…

Listen, if Bama stops Tim Tebow then Florida is dead meat, period, end of story.

Bama has Ingram and McElroy and they can do this.  Florida hasn’t been the same as last year, but everybody is pretending that they are the same team from last season and they just aren’t.  Stop lying to yourselves…Florida’s going down…down down down.

The Real Big 12 Title Game

Texas and Nebraska: Come on, do we really think Nebraska can ruin this for Texas?  I like Bo Pellini and he’s clearly doing something right, but if Texas didn’t lose to A&M there’s no way they’re losing to Nebraska.  (And don’t give em all that fluff about how Nebraska is better than A&M.  A&M matches up better with Texas than the Huskers do.)   The Horns Hook ‘Em

The Real ACC Title Game:

Clemson and Georgia Tech: How pissed do you think Georgia Te….scratch that.  How pissed do you think Paul Johnson is that his Jackets lost to UGA?  Do you think they’re burying bodies out behind Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field?  You do?  Then you know what’s going to happen.   Tech annihilates Clemson…

La Liga del NF

I’m 114-58 for those who are counting (like me)

Jets @ Buffalo: I trust the Bills about as far as I can throw them.  However, right now I’m trusting the Jets as far as I can throw Rex Ryan.  You know who weighs more…

BUF – 17   NYJ – 10

Philly @ Atlanta: The Falcons need this WAY more than the Eagles do.  However, the Falcons are minus Matt Ryan and the Eagles are minus Bryan Westbrook so where does that leave us?  One guy delivers the ball and the other is the focal point of the other’s offense.  When there’s no Westbrook in the game the Eagles have shown that they have major issues on offense.  When Matt Ryan is out Chris Redman is, apparently, a nice backup.  (I was surprised but very pleased with his performance against Tampa.)  With a week to prepare I think Redman can do this thing… (Plus, the Falcons cut Jason Elam and got a kicker (Matt Bryant, the guy who’s kid died and then he kicked the game-winning field goal the very next week.  Gotta love a dude like that) that isn’t broke down and a long snapper that doesn’t put them out low EVERY time.)

ATL – 24   PHI – 21

Tampa @ Carolina: The Panthers have put something together (but I’m not taking back anything I said about Jake Delhomme) and Bucs are still awful.  How would I pick this game any other way?

CAR – 28   TB – 3

New England @ Miami: New England lost a hard one to New Orleans and Randy Moss doesn’t look the same.  The Dolphins are kind of getting away from the Wildcat and I can see how this confluence of events can result in another New England loss.

You see, when I compared to Patriots to the Mitchells on Dexter last week I wasn’t kidding.  What the hell do you think is going on behind closed doors?  I mean, did you see this week’s episode where Arthur tells his daughter that he has a family to take care of (you know, while he’s keeping a boy in the basement of an empty house preparing to bury him in cement?)  Yeah, how jacked up do you think the Patriots are right now?  Where has the cool and collected Belichick gone?  I think he’s smudging his sister’s ashes at crime scenes and calling his Secretary Vera…I’m just saying…

MIA – 27   NE – 24

St. Louis @ Chicago: “Gag me @ gag me” is what I want to call this one.  It’s another one of the “heavy sigh” games where I just don’t even have the strength to think about two teams that are this irrelevant.  YUCK!

With that aside, St. Louis might be realizing that they need to part ways with Mark Bulger and draft someone like Tim Tebow next year…I think they might be getting smart.  This is a garbage win for the Bears, but a win nonetheless…

CHI – 13   STL – 3

Detroit @ Cincinnati: Cincinnati swept the AFC North and Detroit can barely win a game.  This is the one where the Bengals show us how much they’ve grown…I mean GROWN.  (While the Lions are groaning as they get their ass handed to them on a silver platter.)

CIN – 52   DET – 6

Tennessee @ Indy: Here’s where my “Casino Royale Theory” collides with my “Chris Johnson Might Be Right Theory”.  If this game could end in a  tie that would really help me out, but I know that’s not going to happen.

I think we’ve all got the Saints and Indy atop everything so it’s no surprise that I would lean towards the Colts, but I have remember a cautionary tale called “The 2007 Patriots”.  They spent all that time going undefeated and lost the Super Bowl.  Had they just gotten it out of their system earlier they probably could have beat the hell out of the Giants, but the pressure they were under made them play in such a way that Eli was in the game until the very end…and won it.

The Saints are just dumb enough to try this…the Colts are not.  People are going to start resting and they’ll cruise to home-field advantage so they’re not REALLY going to try again until their first playoff game.  The Titans NEED this and I think they’ll get it…they’re going 10-6 (until they lose and prove me wrong.)

TEN – 35   IND – 28

Houston @ Jacksonville: Houston needs to do something or they’re going to be the “Coulda Shoulda Woulda” Texans again.  Matt Schaub needs to decide if he’s going to be Steve DeBerg (and kinda be good, but not legendary) or is he going to be Steve Young (good and legendary.)

The Jags need to stop staying the course.  I heard most of their game with San Francisco last week and I’ll tell you that the announcers in Jacksonville were just killing them.  They hate the offense, they hate the way Garrard plays, they hate the fact that he has potential and doesn’t use all of it, they compared him to Alex Smith, they don’t know what to call Maurice Jones-Drew (I mean, in his own town Jones-Drew confuses broadcasters.  Half the time they were calling him Drew and the other half they were calling him Jones-Drew…it’s was pretty funny), they don’t know what’s up with the defense, at one point I thought they were going to ask the Falcons for Mike Peterson back, and the Jags basically played right into their hands by sucking it up against the 49ers.  I don’t see a reason for this to stop now.

HOU – 35   JAC – 17

Denver @ Kansas City: If Denver can’t squeak one out here I don’t know when they will…the Chefs are terrible and the Broncos are all potential.  A loss here would seriously jeopardize the rest of Denver’s season.  A loss here for KC gets them one step closer to the 1st overall pick.

DEN – 21   KC – 0

Oakland @ Pittsburgh: I also heard most of the Steelers/Ravens game on the radio and I think the Steelers are a little hot about giving that game to Baltimore.  They need this one and Oakland needs to sit down and suck so they can fix every other problem on their team now that they’ve figured out the QB thing.

PIT – 30   OAK – 12

New Orleans @ Washington: Even if I thought the Saints were smart enough to drop at least one game before the end of the regular season I wouldn’t recommend it here…how embarrassing would that be?

NO – 49   WAS – 6

San Diego @ Cleveland: I don’t buy the Chargers, but the Browns suck eggs.  Enough said.

SD – 28   CLE – 3

Dallas @ Giants: I’m not going to “trust” the Cowboys because I know Mathis is going to stab me in the back anytime, but for now I will accept that he can get some things done.  The Giants are missing something.  I don’t know what it is.  I can’t quantify it, but they just don’t have it.  If we want to be real we know that after the Patriots won their first Super Bowl they missed the playoffs (they probably weren’t cheating that season, but that’s another column.)  Either way, the Giants are out of it I think and it’s sad because I like Eli Manning and Mario Manningham, but I just don’t see it happening.

DAL – 24   NYG – 14

49ers @ Seattle: Matt Hasselback hasn’t been killed yet, but that doesn’t mean the Seahawks are any good.  I really like Jim Mora…I do, but this isn’t his year.  It just isn’t.

The 49ers put one on the Jags and now I think they want to keep doing that so they can get back in the hunt.  Probably their only chance is to win their division and if they don’t want to disappoint me they need to pick up where they left off last week when they were beating down Jacksonville.

SF – 28   SEA – 6

Minnesota @ Arizona: These teams will probably combine for 8 or 900 yards of total offense, but the Cards won’t be able to score.  I bet the Vikes will just play with them and give them field goals all day.  Brett Favre will stay on a roll and just wait to meet the Saints in the NFC Title Game.

MIN – 35   ARI – 19

Baltimore @ Green Bay: Both of these teams are pretty good, but neither one is great.  Both have good wins and bad losses.  Both are very confusing.  If we do the math we get:

Aaron Rodgers + Donald Driver/Joe Flacco + Ray Rice + Willis McGahee + Derrick Mason + Ray Lewis + Ed Reed + Haloti Ngata

That equals death for the Packers…

BAL – 31   GB – 13

Enjoy your football.  Check in on Friday so we can talk ALL about the playoff implications of this weekend and what I think my college picks do to the BCS…

Charlie Weis has an $18 million buyout and now he’s set so I don’t feel bad for him at all even though getting fired sucks any way you look at it.  The problem for Charlie Weis is he wanted to be surly like Bill Belichick and forthright like an Urban Meyer or Nick Saban and I don’t think he realized that those two things don’t go together.  You can’t come and say “6-5 isn’t good enough” and then be stuck with 6-5 and already be on the hot seat.  That’s like wearing a sign that says “use my own words against me please!”

So, with this in mind I have some advice for Charlie Weis:

1) Shut the hell up.  Shut your mouth.  Shut up your stupid mouth.  Your cakehole.  Do you your buddy Dan a favor and shut your stupid cakehole.  Seriously.  Shut up.  You’re not good at being forthright.  Instead of saying that 6-5 wasn’t good enough you have easily said “6-5 is not what we’re looking for around here and we are going to do our damndest to improve.”  But did you say that?  Nope, you opened your stupid trap and signed your own pink slip.  (It also doesn’t help that you can’t coach from the front, but that’s another story.)

2)  Smile every now and then, but do it with sincerity.  We can tell that when you’re pretending to be jovial it’s totally fake and completely contrived and you look like Glenn Close in “Air Force One” when she says “Damn it how the hell did they get Air Force One!?”  (Some of the worst acting in the history of movies.  The only worse acting is from Kristina Wayborn in the immortal Bond flick “Octopussy” when she says “I collect…memories…” only she says it like the sentence isn’t over and it’s clear she’s a terrible actor.  Yeah, Charlie Weis, you’re almost as bad a cute blonde who can’t act…move to Hollywood and join a club!

3)  Run, no sprint, back to the NFL and become an Offensive coordinator again.  Honestly, I think you could do it anywhere except the really bad spots like Oakland, KC, and Detroit.  Anywhere else you’d be welcomed with open arms, you would most likely prosper and if you’re smart you’ll go stay there (unlike Norv Turner) and go down in history as a Hall of Fame Assistant.  But guess what, you’ll be in the hall of fame you big tub of goo!!!  How can you beat that.  Look at Leo Mazzone…he never took a Manager’s job because he knew he could be an all-timer as a pitching coach.  Look at Tex Winter…he stood by Phil Jackson all the way and guess how many rings he has?  9…yeah, he’s a Hall of Fame assistant.  So, I ask you Charlie Weis, do you want to be a loser Head Coach who can’t get it done or do you want to be a Hall of Famer as an Assistant?  Just shut up…stop acting…and be a lifetime assistant like you were meant to be.

So, where do they go from here?  How on earth are they going to attract anyone to a Notre Dame program that has all the talent in the world but can’t win games?  Do you find someone who’s crazy enough to take the challenge?  Do you hire from within and hope someone else can take the current talent and do something with it?  Do you beg Brian Kelly to leave Cincinnati?  Do you throw $6 million a year at Urban Meyer and hope it sticks?  Do you do what I suggested and go after George O’Leary and beg him to fix it?  Do you plead with someone like Jim Harbaugh to bring his “anti-suckinator” from Stanford to South Bend?  Now that I think of it…

Jim Harbaugh is a good choice.  I know I said they should hire George O’Leary but he, unfortunately, is not a long term option because he’s an older dude.  However, Jim Harbaugh comes from a football family.  He was a good NFL Quarterback.  He’s in the Colts Ring of Honor.  He took them to the AFC Title Game in 1995.  He’s gone to Stanford and made that program into a dream-killer(which is more than you could ever ask of Stanford than ever before…I mean since John Elway was there {Did you know John Elway’s last college game was the “The Band is on the field” game against Cal?}  Anyways, he’s Indiana royalty.  The only way it could get better from an Indiana perspective is if they hired Reggie Miller or Peyton Manning or Bobby Knight to coach ND football.

Honestly, I have no idea and right now I don’t care.  I mean, how can I even begin to speculate what they will actually do?  Clearly the “sound-judgment meter” is on empty in the Notre Dame football department.  (We could call it the Athletic Department, but we all know that they could give two rat’s asses about anything besides football.)  Where will they move…let’s wait and see.  After the jump my look at the weekend’s football action…

Now, I wasn’t in front of the TV all weekend, but I did see a good deal of the Georgia/Georgia Tech game and I saw the ending of the Florida and FSU game.  I guess there’s two things that you really come away with from these games.

1)  An era just ended in Gainesville and if the Gators bring home another title no one will ever be able to measure up to Tim Tebow in UF.  The Swamp will never be the same.  Basically, nobody wins.  Tebow won’t make it in the NFL (though I’d like to see…I just don’t see it, you know?)  Urban Meyer will spend a couple years trying to replace Tebow (and that is reason enough to imagine him running to ND for a “new challenge”)  Florida football will most likely end up in a malaise just like Florida Basketball.  I can hear all the detractors saying “I Urban Meyer will just reload and Florida will give a go again next year” but you don’t reload players this great.

You see, I told you I’d involve my Dad in this “Is Tim Tebow the best college football player ever” conversation and his immediate-without-a-thought-no-doubt answer was “no”.  I said “who’s better?” and he said (without hesitation again) “Hershel Walker”.  He went on the explain that you can’t really compare because the eras were so different, but if there was a way to measure this (since they are both offensive players who run the ball alot) then he would do this:

Put them both in front of a big, mean Defensive Line and give them the ball and tell them to get “across the road” as it were.  In my Dad’s estimation (and I believe him when he says this) “Hershel could run over anybody…maybe even today’s D Linemen.  Tebow would have to go around.”  That said enough for me.  He also figures that Hershel maybe should have won the Heisman in 1980 instead of George Rogers, but they probably would never give it to a freshman anyways so that’s a moot point but if I had been old enough to care I’d know what he meant.

As for the entirety of the argument he says that Tebow is ONE of the best, but not THE best and that should be good enough.  It is for me.

2)  Georgia/Georgia Tech only served two purposes…to screw up GT’s ranking and allow UGA to keep the coaches they have in place.  By winning against Tech Mark Richt bought Willie Martinez and Mike Bobo some time to not their jobs effectively.  Georgia Tech probably never would have in the National Title conversation anyways (but it was nice to speculate) and they can still beat Clemson in the ACC Title game and make it their first BCS bowl.  So, basically, Georgia Tech can learn from it’s mistakes, still make alot of money for their school, appear in the BCS, and reload for next year (because they’re starting to kill Georgia in the southeast as far as recruiting goes) and UGA gets to keep their coaches in their current roles, not reevaluate and run the risk of doing this season again next season.  Yikes!

Basically, nobody won.  Georgia Tech had a dreamy run interrupted and UGA is going to allow itself to be in a lull that may last a little too long for their taste.

3)  Vince Young marched the Titans down the field and won another game in come-from-behind fashion and now I must completely eat all of my crow right now.

I thought Vince was done in Tennessee and he needed a change of scenery because I thought Jeff Fisher was also over it.  I was wrong.  I guess having a breakdown and sitting for a full season was what he needed to learn to be an effective Quarterback in the long-term in the NFL.  I think this says something about his attitude that we were missing before.  We all thought he was just soft and he couldn’t handle it when everyone was booing him and his mama was telling the press that her baby was “hurting”.  I think what we were missing was the intention of the message…what it really meant was “I cannot stand being booed when I’ve done so much and I’m still learning!  I’m not perfect, but I’m trying dammit and why can’t people freaking understand that?  Yeah, that would have been a much better interpretation of what was going on, but we all missed on it…including me.  Sorry Vince, you’re rocking it and you are about to make Chris Johnson look very smart.

4.  There is such a big difference between Orlando and Jacksonville sports.  Everyone in Orlando is a total homer who has no perspective on their team at all.  It’s really quite pathetic.  I was down there during the East Finals and I remember the Magic broadcast team being total oblivious to how badly they were going to die against the Lakers after they had taken down a clearly overmatched Cleveland team.  It was pathetic to listen to.

Get on the highway and start listening to Jacksonville radio broadcasts and you hear a completely different tale.  These guys where asking why the Jags couldn’t hold a lead, why they couldn’t protect David Garrard, why he wasn’t being that productive, why he was throwing bad passes, why the defense wasn’t tackling well…they were just killing them.  It’s such an interesting dichotomy for two cities that aren’t really that far apart.  Folks in Jacksonville freaking expect something from their team and they are willing to be honest about it.  Folks in Orlando have no interest in being honest with themselves about their teams and it doesn’t help the team at all.  The team improves when the fans are asking questions and keeping the club on their toes.  It’s just like democracy…only more fun.

I can’t imagine what they say about UCF football down in Orlando.  “I know George O’Leary is a cranky, old curmudgeon, but that’s ok as long as he doesn’t kill any kids.”  I mean, what should I expect from them based on their assessments of the Magic?

5)  I love Westwood One’s broadcasts of football games.  They could have Bozo the Clown (RIP) in the booth to do a game it would be good.  I don’t know what it is, but they do such a good job.  If you’re not catching Westwood One on the radio you should give them a try.  The dude calling the Steelers/Ravens game Sunday night was just incredible.  He was painting a picture that I could totally imagine as I zipped down 75 back to Atlanta.  (I’ll tell you, it’s better than listening to Larry Munson call a Georgia game…UGH…he was the worst announcer EVER!)

6)  For as much as Vince Young sat down and learned from Kerry Collins (who isn’t even a Hall of Famer or even close) Matt Leinart has sat around longer and learned less from Kurt Warner (who’s looking more like a Hall of Famer every week.)  How in the world can you lose to Vince Young in the ’06 BCS Title Game and not learn anything from getting schooled by the guy who had an argument for winning the Heisman over Reggie Bush (and who would have won it if they voted for it after all the games have been played like they should) and not learn anything from that?  Seriously, what happened here?  Wasn’t Matt Leinart supposed to be better than Carson Palmer?  I remember when Carson Palmer was “just the beginning” at USC and now he’s pretty much the only skill position player to come out of there and really make waves.  Wow, how the mighty have fallen.

7)  What about the Falcons losing Matt Ryan and Michael Turner and coming back on the Bucs with Chris Redman?  Oh yeah, AND having Jason Elam starting sucking for no reason.  (Did you know they held an open audition for kickers and they didn’t offer anybody a contract?  Thats’ bad….I’m sorry, but that’s bad.  Thomas Dimitroff can prove how good he is by finding a better kicker on a scrap heap somewhere.

8.  Finally, the Colts and Vikings are just rolling along like it’s no big deal and the Saints are going to show us how they handle pressure tonight when they take on the Patriots in the Superdome.  I’m going to sit back and watch, but I’m not seeing it right now…that’s why I cast the Saints as the baffled “M” in my Bond flick.  I think I might take down some notes for that one…

This is the part when I come up some witty close, but I have a serious question to ask:

Based on everything we’ve just talked about let’s take a poll.

Who’s the best College Football Player in your mind?

Is Kurt Warner  a Hall of Famer?

Is Vince Young fluking us again?

Just wondering…tune in on Wednesday for more from the General.