Ahh, where to begin… How about my new blood team, the SC Gamecocks?
Very fair and reasonable expectations heading into the season, and they exceed expectation. They got the job done when they absolutely needed it. Key part there- past tense. Did get the job done. Couldn’t say the same after the Auburn game.
So you’re up 20-7 at this point… Alshon Jeffery is tearing up the Auburn secondary, and our boy Steve Garcia is on fire throwing it up. Ignoring the fact that the offensive line didn’t make a single decent hole for a future all-American, Coach Spurrier, why in your right mind are you running Garcia on the first play of the drive? And sending him again for another fumble? Why would you elect to go away from the passing game when it’s working for you?
I don’t want to be too hard on the defense, because Cam Newton is a nightmare for even SEC defenses. He’s Josh Freeman vol. 2, which is pretty damn good. Auburn is going to come right at you with that running game and it’s hard not to get worn out when they just keep coming at you. But still, the defense was not nearly disciplined enough and that was a poor effort against the run, even for an undersized front seven.
Moving on…. Random thoughts and observations….
- Denard Robinson had another beast effort until that play knocked him out of the game. He would have dummied Bowling Green for another two quarters and Michigan probably would have scored 65 anyway.
- Kellen Moore is the best QB in America. Better than luck, way better than Locker (even though he’s a wrong-arm).
- If Butch Davis’s defense weren’t typical greedy, can’t-say-no-to-money NFL talent, they would dominate the ACC this year, and probably have a nail-biter with a good Miami team.
- Speaking of Miami, nowadays, if they were still pumping out that NFL talent, they would be getting investigated for recruiting violations and receiving benefits, a la Bama and UNC.
- ….so would Florida State.
- …and surely Michigan.
Michigan State, as usual is its own worst enemy. Some of the play calls from the Dantonio crew through the course of key moments in the game gets very questionable, and it’s cost them–yet somehow, they’ve pulled off wins. Granted, when Dayne Crist wasn’t torching the MSU secondary, he was giving it right back to the Spartans. Also granted, there are times when you just can’t help but struggle in one area of your team, and for MSU it’s the secondary. But when you can win games just by playing smart football and not making errors on offense and taking good care of the football, you have to execute.
You follow up a stupid holding call with an inexcusable Cousins illegal forward pass? You were in good field position, and you ended up with 4th and 9349389 at your 15? yard line? That was an awful sequence and it almost cost them the game.
Fortunately, your coach has got some stones and elected to go for that play, and it worked out. Congratulations on the gutsy win.
It will be a typical war of attrition against Wisconsin’s always-powerful running game, so MSU’s efficiency during their time of possession will be huge–absolutely no room for errors. If State wins, they’ll go into the Big House with a ton of confidence, and perhaps even too much confidence; conversely, Sparty would have to rebound in a hurry and be mentally tough to take on Denard Robinson, who will be tough to corral.
On the Michigan side…
Today it was all about a few big plays costing the defense, instead of just being torn apart. Yes, yes, it’s really more of a lesser-of-two-evils case, but I’ll take it. Michigan will roll Indiana, but will need to be on their game to face an evenly-matched Spartans team. MSU may have to corral Denard Robinson and the better skill players, but Michigan will have to stop the likes of Edwin Baker, Keyshawn Martin and a talented tight end crew. Neither team will have room for error, and that will be the key to the game.
NFL————————————
- The Lions are very similar to Michigan–if not for their porous-but-improving defense, they would be in a position to win. Detroit beat Chicago in just about everyone’s mind–except for a few individuals, and the city of Chicago–and hung in with the Eagles despite Stafford going down. Calvin Johnson is still drawing double- and triple-coverage, and Brandon Pettigrew and Jahvid Best are making them pay. Jahvid Best is DeSean Jackson playing tailback, and slightly bigger. Watch out.
- Clay Matthews is a monster.
- Dallas, not Chicago, is who we thought they were. The smart people, that is.
- Grow some balls, Joe Flacco. You have an awesome receiving corps. So do you, Carson Palmer. You both played awful against each other.
- I used to worship Braylon Edwards, but now watching him go is just gut-wrenching. It breaks my heart watching this guy become a piece of shit.
- Mike Martz’s offense is a perfect fit for a guy that loves to rope it down field like Jay Cutler.
- The Steelers are winning the way they did earlier in the decade with average QBs–stifling D, solid balance on offense.
- Don’t worry about the 49ers. They’re going to take the division like everybody expected.
I guess it makes sense that more holdouts occur during an insecure period of time in the NFL, but it’s still annoying. Every guy out there is holding out for huge paydays, and then they don’t produce once they get them. Although, it’s not going to be easy to keep pace with the rest of the league when you’ve been out the first month of the season. Albert Haynesworth is a worthless, greedy human being. He stuck around to collect the $21M payday, and then pissed and moaned and gave no effort. Fault the Redskins for that one.
MLB—————-
Nobody understands the Florida Marlins very well. Empty stadiums, obnoxiously low payroll numbers, mediocre teams, but somehow have won multiple World Series and somehow manage to get by? How?
What people are missing is the point behind their strategy. The Marlins make more than enough money from their TV contract to atone for the empty stadiums–the money is always there. That, coupled with the money from revenue sharing gives them a lot of flexibility with an attractive sports market.
The TRUTH is, the stadium is everything to them. Just watch. Once they get approved for their own ballpark in Miami, they’re going to spend like crazy on building a contender to draw in the fans to fill it up and give it life.
Same thing with the Oakland A’s–they will all of a sudden become able to throw some money toward some bats once they have a new yard.
- The Phillies are gonna take the Series this year over the Rays or Yankees. They’re on fire and their top 3 is lights out.
- Minnesota is probably going to choke in the playoffs (again).
- I love Vlad Guerrero. Good for him after LA showed him the door. But Texas will fade in the playoffs. Sorry guys.
- Tigers…. -sigh-
NBA—————-
David Stern just doesn’t get it. If he managed to get the referees on the same page as the players as to what would be called and what wouldn’t be unilaterally, there would be no problems. Only clowns like Rasheed Wallace would stick out from the crowd. The NBA needs to stop saying they’re going to crack down and then be inconsistent year in and year out.
I thought I’d never say it, but progressively stripping away players of rights on the court is the wrong move. The biased game-officiating and otherwise inconsistency is to blame. The players’ right to respectfully consult and/or dispute a call with a referee is a part of the game, and the relationship between players and referees is too sacred to become a dictatorship. Every call is completely judgmental, and players should have a right to dispute it the right way.
That’s about all.
The Lions will beat the Vikings in about 12 hours. Bond.
TJB
