Still moving on

Although the Packers lost, they are still going to move on. They lost their superstar Brett Favre against the Cowboys last night when they lost to the Cowboys 37-27. He left the game with an injuried elbow and shoulder.

The Packers doctors said he should be alright and return for the December 9th game against the Oakland Raiders. Favre is the record holder for most consecutive starts with 249, 269 including play-offs. The doctor also said that his elbow injury isn't as serious as last year and he doesn't have any nerve damage.

I think Brett will do fine because the injury will not affect his throwing arm. He is a tough guy, and although he is injured, he will still make a dramatic difference in the game on the 9th. I will have to admit, after watching the Packers this year, they are probably my new favorite team. I am not going to jump on the bandwagon with them, but they are doing surprisingly well this year.

Dallas VS Green Bay

So tonight, the NFL has another huge game. The Dallas Cowboys are going up against the Green Bay Packers. Both teams are 10-1 and already have won their divisions, this game will have a greater effect on the each teams playoff seed. Both Tony Romo and Brett Favre are on fire, but will their teams back them up?

The Green Bay Packers have more to worry about than what the Cowboys have because of their injury report. Defensive tackle Johnny Jolly, Tight End Bubba Franks, and Safety Aaron Rouse are all not going to be in the game. Other than that Green Bay has many players that are "iffy." Popular Corner back Charles Woodson and Defensive End Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila are both game day decisions. Safety Nick Collins although will be playing in the game after missing both of the Packers last two games.

In my own personal opinion, the Cowboys also will struggle because of frankly Brett Favre. Brett Favre is not a player that you can replace. He brings it to the field all day everyday, no matter what the problem is. He will always fire the team up and make them strive for perfection even if there is no way that they will win. You just cannot have a game plan for Brett Favre because you never know exactly what trick he is going to pull out of his sleeve.

My friend told me that the game is not going to broad casted on TV. That pisses me off because this is one of the bigger games of the season. Why wouldn't TV want to broadcast this, I mean they did make such a big deal about the Colts versus Patriots game but not this one. Hmm, weird!

FS Sean Taylor: 1983-2007

This morning Washington Redskin free safety Sean Taylor died. This was after the previous night when an intruder forced entry into his home and shot Taylor in the upper leg hitting an artery. After much blood loss a miracle was needed, it never came. He was said to be unconscious and heavily sedated as he passed away.

Now what the American public wants know is an explanation. It seems to be the American way, if something happens that we don't like, we want to know what happened and why it happened. Katrina and 9/11 were the same way, just that this is not quite to that extent, you get the point though.

I'm not here to talk about what happened and why it did. I'm here to talk about the effect it will have on the Washington Redskins and the league as a whole.

The Redskins can go two directions. One is that they can take this as a bigger negative then it has to be. They can see a position that they had a pro bowler in vacated for a backup and believe that their playoff chance are over, let alone Super Bowl chances. They are 5-6 right now and still have a great shot at the playoffs. If they let this get to them and keep their heads down nothing will come good of it and will only lead to a downward spiral.

The second direction they can take is using the negative and turning it into a positive. Maybe they dedicate the rest of the season to Sean. Thus giving them that extra umphhh at the end of each game to allow them to sneak into the playoffs and still have a shot at the SB. The team has talent. A couple of good running backs in Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. Some talented receivers in Santana Moss and Randall El. A up and rising QB in Jason Campbell. There defense is also solid with corners Fred Smoot and Shawn Springs and young gun LaRon Landry to round out a very talented defensive backfield. They still have a very good shot at this thing if they take this whole situation the right way.

As for the league as a whole, I think that there will definitely be some sort of mourning period before all the games this week in remembrance of the former pro bowler. Unlike baseball they can't take a whole day of games off like they did in the MLB for Darryl Kile. The NFL doesn't have the time to do it, everything is on such a time constraint it is hard to even cancel a game due to this factor.

If you want to know more about this story I recommend going to either nfl.com, Redskins.com, or espn.com. The facts are still being rolled in and stories are popping up like crazy in remembrance of Taylor.

Now a video in dedication to Sean Taylor.

What a Mess

The Monday Night football game was one not to watch. The Steelers vs. the Unvictorious Miami Dolphins. Neither of the teams scored till 17 seconds left, and the score was a kick by the Pittsburg kicker. The game was one of the longest games ever played with no scores. The last time that their was a scoreless game was in the forties and that game didn't have overtime. The main reason for the game being so sucky was the horrible conditions of the field. The field has been played on alot. It had five high school state games on that field. The field also has had Pitt University play on it Saturday. So the field had seen better days.

The game was put on about an hour delay due to the fact that there was not only tons and tons of rain, but there was also lighting. You would think that the Steelers could playing against a team like the Dolphins would be able to score more then 3 points, even in the rain. The Dolphins though did play somewhat tough and to their defense they have lost 5 games this year by three points or less. So they are not only just bad this year they have not been the luckiest either.

So the Steelers now are 8-3 and they are really looking good towards the end of the season. The Dolphins are now 11-0 and really need to put up a win to save at least some dignity, the last time that a team went without a win was the 1976 Buccaneers. So the Dolphins need to get on it and the Steelers keep it up.

Pat Tillman

Yesterday I saw something on the news about how injured soldiers serving in Iraq have to give back their bonus they received because they no longer can serve. That point really doesn't have much to do with football until instantly I thought of Pat Tillman.

For those of you who forgot or don't know who Pat Tillman is, he passed up a 3.6 million dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the Rangers and go fight in Iraq after the 9/11 attacks happened. When I first saw the show on TV about how they were taking away the money that the soldiers received I understood why. But as I thought more about it, I thought man that is ridiculous. They are serving our country, they protect our freedom, and they keep us safe and just because they got hurt doesn't mean that the United States can take back their bonus. Basically what that is telling the men and women who have been blessed with talent is that forget protecting the United States because they will take back the money they promise to give you anyway. I mean really, Pat Tillman could have stayed at home, made all the money in the world, and lived peacefully for the rest of his life but instead he chose to go to Iraq to protect women and children in the United States. I realize this doesn't necessarily go with football, but the whole Pat Tillman story connects it.

Then the thought that ran through my head is all of these players that have the 10 million dollar deals still bitch and moan about how they do not get enough money, or how they are going broke, and all this other stuff. I mean really, how can you go broke living the good life being idolized by everyone making millions. It just pissed me off because all of our men and women fighting making next to nothing, and all they have to do is strap up in some pads and go play for an hour. To be honest, I forgot the whole Pat Tillman story until I heard how the government is taking away those bonuses. The government needs to give those bonuses not only because they said they would, but because every time a soldier steps on Iraq soil, they can be killed. My ups to Pat Tillman and everything he taught the selfish football players. He didn't necessarily teach them by talking, but through his own actions.

Got er done.

So the colts are starting to look like they should. They came out Thursday a little shaky but ended up putting together a great performance. The one performance that really made me happy was that of Peyton Manning. It seems as though he has finally shaken off that Patriot loss. He threw for 272 yards, he was 22-32 and he threw 3 Touchdown passes. Thank you Peyton. The whole team really did play well. The defense only allowed 13 points which helped out Peyton a lot with staying on the field. Now given that the falcons are not one of the most dominant teams of the NFL, I was still impressed with how the colts played. The defense was lead by Brackett who had 11 solo tackles and 3 asst. The defense also had two interceptions. The biggest accomplishment that the defense did was keeping Dunn under 100 yards, which they did. They only allowed a total of 112 total rushing yards. The colts also had a bunch of help from off the bench with Keith running for 74 yards on 17 attempts, but like I said I was really impressed with the way that Peyton Played. It seemed like he was in the zone and was comfortable. Now I know that he would like Harrison back, but they don’t want him to come back and get hurt worse. This does make sense due to the fact that they should make it to the playoffs once again and they will need Harrison when they match up against the Patriots. So well done Colts and lets play this well against the Jaguars next Sunday.

BCS Confusion

They thought they had it all figured out; LSU will lose only one game and will still go to the National Championship. Everybody agreed with them too. Until yesterday, when chaos ensued, I would guess, in BCS land. What are they going to do now? It seems that everybody has had their shot to go to the NC but it seems everybody also screws it up. One thing we do know for sure is that Ohio State is done screwing up, for now. As they are done with their regular season ending with an 11-1 record. West Virginia is currently standing ahead of all the one loss teams after LSU got beat in triple OT, which I alluded to earlier. However, WV has two games to go and in the Big East you never know who is going to show up on any given day. The same can be said about any team this college football season. Missouri is given a chance thanks to LSU's loss. If Missouri wins out I predict they will go to the NC game. They have the same tough road as Kansas as once they square off against each other the winner goes to the Big 12 championship which will be tough to win. Kansas the only undefeated team in BCS land (since Hawaii is not in a BCS conference) will have the same path I just mentioned. They will be in for sure, bottom line, end of story, if they win out. A very BIG if.

Also if you were not alive the past few days Arizona State lost against USC the other night so their BCS NC hopes have gone to the way side as well.

football in general

Alright, well I was wrong about the Boilermakers on my last post about them getting smacked against IU. I mean yes, that was an important game and everything but I still am surprised that Purdue came back. I don't necessarily think that Purdue came back because of Coach Tiller, I think they came back on their own ambition and drive. They knew deep down that all the students were behind them, while at the same time, the students want Tiller gone. Although they came back, IU still got lucky and hit a 49 yard field goal to win.

One of my buddies is a student at IU. He was trying to tell me how a 49 yard field goal is not a long field goal. I was thinking, wow, is this kid serious! 49 yards is deep no matter how you look at it because if just a slight breeze hits the football then its wide right or left. I do congratulate IU for the field goal, although they did not deserve to win. There is a big rivalry between the two schools not only in football but in all sports, and it did piss me off that my friend had that much nerve to try to tell me the field goal was like an everyday thing that happens especially with all that pressure on the kicker.

Next is the LSU tigers. I think they are the most over rated team in the NCAA. Yes, they have been ranked first in the nation twice this year, but there are many more teams that have more talent and overall more skill. I'm not saying that LSU doesn't have talent! What I am saying is that I do not think they are a number one team. Even teams that are not ranked near as high as them such as OSU can give them a tough time. I think any team can be beat on any day, its just when I see LSU being ranked so high multiple times is stupid.

Also, yesterday I saw one of the funniest things I have seen in football in a while. As I was sitting around with my buddies last night talking about football, someone brought up the fact that Brett Favre won some crazy award yesterday for his performance. My buddy said something about it being called the Gobbler Cup or Turkey Cup or something I can't really remember what but I couldn't help but laugh. I mean really, what is the guy going to say when asked about what he thought about the award. He is a 3 times MVP, a 6 time All-Pro selection, Toughest Person in America in 2003, and many more! How can a Turkey Cup compare to any of those? I like Favre because he is so tough. I thought it was funny about one of the points one of my buddies made, which was this year after he under threw a ball and it was intercepted, during the interview someone said he was to old to the throw the long ball anymore. He responded with a hysterical comment which was who ever thinks I cannot throw the long ball anymore, meet me in the parking lot. The guy is tough without a doubt, and it was a tough one to hear that a someone really asked him how the Turkey Cup felt to win.

Turkey, Food, and Football

So thanksgiving is tomorrow and I can’t wait. I think it is almost better then Christmas due to the fact that there is FOOTBALL. Now with Christmas you get the food and the great company of your family, but no football. With thanksgiving you get tons of food, great company with your family, and you get the great American game of football. You can’t beat it. This Thanksgiving will be pretty much the same. I will get my plate and its stuffed full of food. I then watch, on and off some game that I really don’t care about, but hey its food and football, can’t beat it. This Thanksgiving will be a little different. First of all i'll have a team that i actually care about, plus there are a couple good matchups that should make for a good day of football.

The Green Bay Packers vs. the Detroit Lions, Detroit has now been playing for some 65 years on Thanksgiving and against the Packers on Thanksgiving have a record of 11-5-1. The Packers have been playing Thanksgiving days since the 20’s. So they both know how to play on Turkey day. The Lions are second in their conference to the Packers, and they are still on track for their “ten” wins. The Packers are playing really tough and are lead by their “senior” quarterback Brett Farve. This really should be a good one though. They are each trying to fight for the NFC north championship and this game would help them out a lot.

The next game is the Dallas Cowboys vs. the New York Jets. The Jets are somewhat new to the Thanksgiving scene, but the Cowboys have been playing on Turkey day for some time now. This I'm not sure is going to be as good as a game. Tony Romo has been playing extremely well and T.O. is finally putting up the numbers that he should be. So I don’t think that they Jets have much of a shot on this one, but then again my picks haven’t always been the best. So I'm going with the Cowboys, but don’t quote me on it.

The Final game that is going to be played is the Indianapolis Colts and the Atlanta Falcons. They both have experience on thanksgiving and it should be a fun game to watch. Now the Colts should definitely come out with the win especially because don’t really have a certain strong suit. They are 28th in total offense; they are 15th in total defense and 31st in points scored. The big one that sticks out to be is the 31st in points scored. Usually when you play the colts you need to have an offense that can keep up scoring with the colts. With one of the worst scoring offenses they will probably have trouble keeping up scoring with the colts. So again don’t make any monster bets on my pick but the colts should beat the Falcons with ease.

Big Ten

First, the Ohio State Buckeyes were back at it again today. They faced the Michigan Wolverines which is one of many Big Ten games they needed to win! The 11-1 Buckeyes beat Michigan winning the Big Ten. Running back Chris "Beenie" Wells ran for a career high 222 yards tonight scoring both touchdowns for the Buckeyes! The defense also came into the game knowing they had to stop the Michigan offense and that they did holding them to only 3 points. Also, they have a good chance of going to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997. They are number seven ranked in the BCS standings which means if a few teams lost some games, they would be in the BCS title game. My personal thoughts of OSU are the same as always which is they are one of the best teams in the NCAA. I think they are under ranked because most teams cannot stop their offense. Most teams cannot stop Wells, along with the quickness of the wide receivers. Heisman candidate Mike Hart really didn't do much against the OSU defense which says a lot about the defensive performance tonight.

Next, the Purdue Boilermakers sucked again tonight. Coach Tiller needs to either quit or be fired. The only reason why the Boilers are over five hundred ever is because the weak schedule they seem to always have at the beginning of the season. I mean really, they play small colleges/big high schools for the first 5 games of the season and when they face a large school they get smoked. The fans start thinking every season that the Boilers actually may be something this year until an actual Big Ten school comes along. The Boilers played IU today and frankly got it handed to them. I heard somewhere that Coach Tiller called in Dorien Bryant into his office to tell him that it was important that Dorien made the clutch catches during the game. What just doesn't make sense to me is that Tiller doesn't even put the Boilers in shape to make clutch catches. I thought it was funny as I was walking around the Purdue campus that their are many fliers that say, www.firecoachtiller.com." You can obviously tell that the students at Purdue understand that Tiller sucks becuase Purdue does have talented players obviously, but Tiller just doesn't understand how to use them to their full potential. The Boilermakers needed to win tonight for the chance of a bowl game, although with their performance it doesn't look good. I am watching the game right now and there is about 6 minutes left in the game with Purdue trailing 24-10. I mean that really isn't a close game. Big deal if they score again and give the ball back to IU with 5 minutes left. You know that IU is going to be able to control the clock! If IU even gets into field goal range the game is over. I am curious to see the outcome of the game. FIRE TILLER!!!!!

Maybe this will help?

So the worst team in the NFL, you’d think would have nothing to lose by added or drooping players. Of course I'm talking about the Miami Dolphins, who still after week nine have not one a single game and the future isn’t looking much better. They have to play the Bills and the Jets within these next four weeks. Both of those teams are in their division which will make those games will especially tough. They also have the second worst defense in the NFL. On average they give up almost 30 points a game. Now I know a little on football and I know that if your defense gives up that many points on defense your offense better be the best offense in the NFL if you want to win a game; which their offense is ranked 19th.

So to my main topic, they once again are letting Mr. Hippie, Pot smoking, Drug Head, Ricky Williams come back and start practice next Monday. Now Ricky was good in his prime, aka the days he didn’t smoke his brains out. Now there is no way that he can get back into the game and be such a dominant threat like he was in his college days and beginning years in the NFL. Now I got to give it to the guy, he really does want to play football, but I think he wants to do drugs more. This is now he’s second time coming back? C’mon, the guy has his priorities and I think he has chosen to smoke rather then carry a football. Now I could be totally judging this man for something he isn’t. He could now be a totally changed man and have his life going in the right direction but something tells me he’s going to fail another drug test and get suspended once more. Do I blame the Dolphins for try to pick up a player that once was a huge part of their offense? No, but I do question why they pick up a guy who has disrespected, and dishonored their program time and time again. So I wish the Dolphins the best of luck with Ricky, but don’t complain when he doesn’t show up for a game or practice because he is so baked and doesn’t know what day it is.

The ole' bucket game

The Boilers play IU this weekend and I decided instead of giving you my pick that probably won't be anything like the real one. I am going give you a little history on the Bucket Game. The Oaken Bucket has been going on since 1925. The first Bucket was actually found in Southern Indiana and someone thought it would be a great thing to give to the victor of the game. The very first game that was played for the Bucket ended up in a tie, so they put both an I, and a P, on the Bucket. The Boilers have almost dominated the series, with winning the matchup 43 times and the Hoosiers only have 24. The bucket has also had a way of disappearing from both campuses, but always ended up showing back up. This matchup will most likely have the same results as previous years. Purdue is coming off a couple tough losses and I think Tiller has been really practicing his boys this week. I think IU will definitely put up a fight but like everyone says," they are a basketball school."

So I guess I lied in the beginning and I will throw out a score. I'm thinking that the score will be Purdue 35, IU 28. It could be a higher scoring game due to the fact that I think both of these teams don't have strong defenses, so there should be a lot of scoring. So when I’m down at Bloomington and us Boilers add another P to the chain. I'll walk up to each IU fan and tell em'. “Don't worry, you are a basketball school, no one expected you to win this.”

More injuries

Along with the Colts, the Vikings may be in trouble too. Adrian Peterson, who is the number one running back in the league and the starting running back from the Vikings, is now out for the season because of an injury to his LCL. The LCL is one of the four ligaments on the knee that helps keep the knee together. People are not to familiar with injuries to the LCL, but people relate more the the term ACL or MCL injuries which are two of the other ligaments located in the same area. Adrian Peterson has ran for over a thousand yards already this year. The Vikings are in serious trouble because their offense struggles to get over 200 yards without Peterson. I think it will be fun to see how their future goes.

Washington Redskins wide receiver Brandon Lloyd is also out all season due to a broken collarbone. Lloyd is not as great of a player as Peterson, but the Redskins signed him to a multi year multi-million dollar contract. He has got into some trouble this season already this season after he missed a team meeting and was not allowed to travel to New York to play the jets. He only has two receptions this season which is pretty after being signed to a multi-million dollar contract. The Redskins are struggling this season because they had to sign someone to replace Lloyd. They signed Jimmy Farris, who is a player that was cut at the end of 2006 preseason. The Redskins still do have some serious talent in Antwaan Randle El, Keenen McCardell, and Reche Caldwell.

Overall I think the NFL has had more injuries this season compared to most. Almost the entire Colts team is on the injured reserve, and you can see star players popping up in the news about how they are hurt and are on the injured list. Kinda weird!

Colts in trouble

The Indianapolis Colts may be in serious trouble. After being plagued by many injuries they lost one of their starting defensive linemen. Dwight Freeny, who is a three time pro-bowler for the Colts is out for the season after he injured his left foot. Simeon Rice has been promoted to take the highest paid defender in the league. During the San Diego game, the Colts were without seven starters and lost four more during the game. The Colt's were a team that could not have been beating because of the massive talent they brought to the field, but now with all of their key players on the injured list, their future could be in big trouble. The rest of the players on the injured list include pro-bowl safety Bob Sanders, wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez, line backer Rob Morris, and the list goes on. The Colts are in serious trouble with all this talent sitting on the side lines. I think its a tough call to decide what the Colts future holds because some of the players may return to the field for the post season, although without Freeny or Harrison, the Colts will not go far. Hopefully Harrison will come back from his bruised knee so he can take some of the pressure off of Manning and Wayne. Many people say his presence is not a dramatic change in the game, although it is obvious on the field the way the defense lines up you can tell they do not have to worry about a spectacular catch from Harrison, so they can concentrate more on stopping Wayne.

Heisman Hopefulls

The Heisman is the award that any football player wants to get at least once. It is the most honorable award, but equally as hard to get because there is always so many deserving athletes for this award every year. This upset will obviously be one of the toughest season to pick a Heisman winner. Names that were mentioned at the beginning of the season like Brian Brohm, Ray Rice, Steve Slaton, and John David Booty have totally droped out of the Heisman race. Those athletes have fallen either because their team has been losing, not living up to peoples expectations, and/or injury. Another main reason those names are not talked about anymore is because athletes that were somewhat unknown at preseason have exceeded peoples expectations week in and week out, and those athletes are Tim Tebow and Dennis Dixon.



1) Dennis Dixon 6'4" 200bs from the Oregon Ducks truely came out of no where for his senoir season. He was your average QB for a unranked team last year 2006 with 2,143 passed yards, 12 TDs, and 14 INTs giving him a not good QB rating of 120.68. This year he really came out and so did his team which really helps when you are in the Heisman race. People got first glipse of him when he destroyed Michigan 39-7. His combination of passing and rushing makes him very exciting and very hard for a defense to contain. As of now his stats are great with 2,074 passed yards, 20 TDs, and only 3 INTs, he has a QB rating of 163.10. That makes him one of the most valueable QBs and the front runner for the Heisman.



2) Tim Tebow 6'3" 235lbs from Florida Gators is another great QB coming up and he is only a sophomore. His stats are also great with 2,532 passed yards, 23 TDs, and 5 INTs he has a rating of 177.09. His stats are better than Dennis Dixon's, but he still sits closely behind him in the Heisman race. One reason is he is a sophomore and voters always know that can vote for him next year. Second reason is his team has three losts and Heisman winners don't usually come from teams with over two losts. Even though Tim Tebow is better on paper than Dennis Dixon, he has a few things Tim wants; 2 less losts, 2 less interceptions, and #2 ranked team.

GAME OF THE CENTURY...but not really

Duke at Notre Dame looks to set up two of the best teams...with a one and nine record. Funny thing is usual Juggernaut ND is playing this grotesque game on national TV as they always do, on commercial crazy NBC. Notre Dame has been nothing short of a disappointment this season. They lost the winning streak to Navy on their way to losing to both academies they play this year. They have zero offense which results in the defense looking bad having to not only play an enormous amount of plays but also try to make up for the offense's mistakes.

Enough of the negatives, I am going to try to find some positives out of this bunch. Okay, here goes...

They look to have some good, young talent in Golden Tate, who should be on every offensive and special team play as he has made all the offensive highlights this year. Duval Kamara has also looked pretty talented in the games of late. I also believe that if the offense gave the defense any help whatsoever, the D could be a pretty solid unit. Darrin Walls has a ton of talent that is just waiting to be complemented by a whole defense along with fellow CB Raeshon McNeil. It looks as if Sophomore Eric Maust is going to be a pretty solid substitution for preseason All-American punter Geoff Price. Two people I will be sad to see go are D-Lineman Trevor Laws and LB Maurice Crum Jr. They have made pretty much all the big plays this season and have tried their hardest to keep this thing together. James Aldridge is looking to be the star back in what now seems to be an offense with no air attack. Oops, another negative, ahh screw it. Jimmy Clausen has proved to be inconsistent and unable to get to speed with the college game. I just hope QB recruit Dane Crist is ready to go right away. I also disagree with Weis showing disrespect to a junior QB who has paid his dues in Evan Sharpley, maybe there is some sort of back-story I do not know. From what I see, however, Evan is the better QB. It's just that Weis has been Clausen's personal butt buddy ever since his Hollywood entrance to downtown South Bend a couple of Aprils ago. Just my opinion, like I said there could and probably is something I do not know.

So that's that, some musings for the common Notre Dame fan, and some entertainment for the common Notre Dame hater.

Sad weekend

Last weekend was a hard one for me to watch football. I had only one of my picks come true and my two teams didn't come up with a win. The Boilers once again didn't seem like themselves. They just didn't play the football that they were capable of playing. Curtis Painter actually played a decent game on the ground, showing that he was a versatile quarterback, scoring two touchdowns on running plays. Passing he threw for over 300 yards, but still struggled with two picks and only one TD pass. The special teams were a little shaky as well and the defense didn't play like we needed them to. So, the Boilers play IU this weekend at Bloomington, and they really could use the win and come home once again with the Oaken Bucket.

My poor Colts, it's like watching a depleted army go against a whole nation and almost pull out the win, but in the end your reliable sniper, aka Mr. Adam. Misses the "shot" and the whole army gets destroyed. Now, I know that’s a horrible comparison but the Colts have some serious problems. They don't have three of their starting receivers. Last game both tackles went out of the game. Dwight Freeney went out of the game, with what I hope was just a minor sprain or a twists and only brought 17 players for their offense. That’s pathetic. Peyton had a really tough game. He threw 6 intercepts in all. I know it might sound bias because I’m a Colts fan but I got to believe that he threw the majority of those because he didn't have any receivers to catch the ball. Now, given six is a hell of a lot of intercepts, but a couple of those were outstanding catches like the one that Chargers cornerback pulled down. I just hope next weekend vs. the Chiefs we can get some of our starters back and pull out a win.

Heisman Race

As the Heisman race continues, five players begin to stick out. These five players are: Dennis Dixon, Pat White, Mike Hart, Matt Ryan, and Darren McFadden.

1. Dennis Dixon: The quarterback from Oregon over all knows the game. He comes into the games well prepared and executes well. His arm is great as he has thrown for a little over 2000 yards with only 3 picks. He is the kind of quarterback that can throw and also run. He has ran for 549 yards and 8 touchdowns. I do not think he is number one to get the Heisman Trophy, although many do.

2. Pat White: The West Virginia quarterback is explosive. His speed reminds me a little of Mike Vick along with his passing capability. His performance is what makes the West Virginia offense work. I think the respect that the team gives him, along with his performance is what has given this Junior the position he is in with the race.

3. Mike Hart: The running back from Michigan is a tank. His running style reminds me of Barry Sanders from the Lions because his explosive speed, and his ability to switch directions so quickly. I think either Mike or Darren should win without a doubt.

4. Matt Ryan: The quarterback from Boston College really hasn't impressed me with his performance, although his stats have a different view. Throwing for a little under 3000 yards so far with twenty-one touchdowns is pretty impressive. I do not think he is a big contender in the race because of the flashiness of McFadden and Hart.

5. Darren McFadden: Overall my favorite to win the Heisman, he is a rusher from Arkansas. After his performance against South Carolina last week, his chances improved drastically. He really impresses me with his knowledge of when and how to cut back and forth. I predict he will be in New York holding the trophy.

BCS Mess

The BCS is once again in shambles as the number one team went down 28-21 in The Ohio State University. Not only this but it was to an unranked Illinois team, on top of that they lost at the Horseshoe. So what does this do to the national championship picture? Well, it messes it up pretty bad. The only team that is undefeated from a BCS conference is Kansas and many people would say they are overrated at number four. I don't think you should argue with an undefeated team. Another team that is undefeated is Hawaii who looks to pull a Boise State and shake up the BCS world once again.

Question is, with this wacky of a college football season who deserves to get into the national championship? Lets look at some of the potential candidates...

LSU: They will go to the NC if they win out. They have a big game with Arkansas at the end of the year that will decide their fate. Their only trip up was a game at Kentucky.
Oregon: They look to be set up pretty well today with the loss of OSU. But I think they are depending on Kansas to lose one of their games in order for them to have a chance.
Kansas: If they win out they WILL go to the NC. They have a tough road to get there though. Including a matchup today at Oklahoma State, then a big showdown with Missouri in the last game. If they win those then they will play in the Big 12 Championship which is likely to set them up with an Oklahoma Sooner team.
Speaking of Oklahoma: They have shot as well. They will need some help though. If they do win out it will be against some good opponents as they will meet in the Big 12 Championship as I referred to earlier.
Ohio State: They are down, but not out. This loss today really hurts but look for a good game against Michigan next week. The winner of this game will go to the Rose Bowl, at least. OSU will need a ton of help though.

UPSET Watch

After looking at this weekends schedule and knowing the latest trend is a unseen upset. I see a few games the shout upset. I feel there should be less upsets because teams high up on in the ranking should really have their eyes open and on their guard week in and week out. But I also feel upset are even more likely to happen because all teams weather winning or losing record want to go out with a bang and possible get themselves on the map for next year.

1) The first upset I am calling is kind of a easy one to see and it is California over USC. Both these teams are really going though some rough times. Both at one time were ranked number 2, but were beat by unranked teams in very big upsets. Coming from #2 Cal. dropped three lost in a row leaving themselves unranked and playing for there pride in this game against USC. USC had a embarrassing lost to Stanford when they were #2 going on and having a struggle win against Arizona, then losing against the great Oregon Ducks this season. These teams are very evenly matched with their dominating offenses but I feel Cal. will take this one in a close game with a one possession one so I'm predicting 35-28.

2) The second upset I am calling is a hard one but i can really see it happening is Illnois over Ohio State. Illnois i feel is the third best team in the Big Ten right now. Illnois runs that spread offense that Ohio State have yet to see this year. Ohio State has the best defense in the Big Ten, but with this spread offense Illnois presents Ohio State defense could fall apart. If Ohio State cannot contain this QB and RB combination Illnois will run all over them. Look for this to be a high scoring action packed game. This one will come down the last snap and i predict Illnois 28-24

What a weekend for Big Ten Football.

So this weekend is going to be a fun one in the Big Ten. We have a lot of key match ups and I’m going to go over a couple of them and describe why it will be key for each team to pull out a win.

1) Lets start with my boys in West Lafayette, the boilers. Purdue is coming off a loss and needs to rebound if they still want a shot at another bowl game. They will be playing Michigan State, which has had a so-so season. They are now 5-5 overall and 1-5 in the Big Ten conference play. So they are playing for pride now. They probably won't make a bowl game and they won't for sure if they lose this weekend. So both teams have to win this weekend to keep that bowl appearance alive. The prediction on this one would have to be Purdue 27, Michigan State 17.

2) Ok so we have the Michigan Wolverines going to the Badgers home in Wisconsin to play another a big game. Michigan once again is at the top of the Big Ten with the Buckeyes, so they must win if they want a chance to play Ohio State, next weekend for the Big Ten title. If they do lose this weekend it’s almost a given that the Buckeyes will repeat as the Big Ten title winners. The Badgers need the win for a respectable Bowl appearance, plus this being the Badgers last home game the seniors should have something to prove by not letting the Wolverines come into their stadium and beat them. I'm thinking the score on this one is going to be a close one and I’m thinking the Badgers will come up with the upset and win 24 to 21.

3) The last match, which could be the biggest of this weekend, would have to be the Ohio State and Illinois game. Ohio State has so much on this game its unreal. They have not only the Big Ten title on the line, but they also have their shot at the National title on this game as well. They have to win out the rest of their games if they want to have a shot at the National title and Illinois is going to be the one to stop that chance. Illinois needs this win because if they do they would now have a shot at sharing the Big Ten title with Michigan and Ohio State. Now it would be slim that this would happen but if everything feel into place they could achieve the title, but first they would have to beat Ohio State. My prediction on this game would have to be Ohio State, 35, Illinois 21.

Colts vs Chargers

Like I have said all year, LT cannot be stopped, only contained. This week San Diego Chargers face the Indianapolis Colts. To be honest, the Colts have a great defense although LT is really a tough runner to stop. He threatens the Colts in more than just one aspect because if they clog up the middle, LT could run around the edges, although if they spread the LB's then he could run straight up the gut. I think the Colts do have enough talent on defense to overpower LT if they can read the play right.
Other than LT, the Chargers have Antonio Gates, which is a hell of a player, although the Colts offense when Marvin is playing is unstoppable. The Chargers were thought of being one of the top five teams in the NFL until they lost to Minnesota although if they beat the Colts they will be back in the race. As everyone knows, the Colts did lose last week which you can look at two ways. Either one, they will throw in the towel and give up on the season, or two, they will be pissed off and out for blood. This is easy to explain which one they will be! With Quarterback Peyton Manning, you know he is going to fire everyone up and make sure they are all on the right page to pull off the win. Every team has hiccup's like the Colts did last week but as long as they can get those out, I think they will be just fine against the Chargers. I see this game being close towards the beginning, but then Peyton will blow the game open.

Instant Explosive

Throughout the NFL you will find a team with a guy who could just take a game over by himself. No, I'm not talking about a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning. I'm talking about a guy who with him and no one else can turn the course of a game around by himself. Guys to the likes of the Bears' Devin Hester, who's game changing kick returns have kept them and won the Bears many games in his early career. Another is Adrian Peterson who seems to make plays by himself either running over people or running through a potential tackler. On the defensive side of the ball you have a guy like Bob Sanders who can, at times, seem like he is everywhere on the defensive side of the ball.

Devin Hester has been a star since he came into the league out of Miami U. He has nine touchdowns in only two years, eight of those coming from his specialty: Returning the football. Some one has joked before that it is ill advised to give Hester a present because he will probably just return it. The guy is a game breaker plain and simple.

Adrian Peterson is another one of those young guys in the league that have made an instant impact. His last game says it all. Just a rookie he broke the single game rushing record with 296 yards against a Charger defense. He made the Chargers look stupid with his breaking of tackles and just pure speed to beat defenders to the end zone. He looks to be on his way to being one of the best RB's ever. Many would argue he is the top RB in the league right now, AS A ROOKIE!

Bob Sanders the only defensive game breaker I have listed can take over a game. His endless game changing plays have turned the 'mo' back to the Colts favor in many games. In only his fourth season he has already racked up 149 solo tackles and three INT's. Another joke I have heard is that "75% of the world is covered by water, the rest is covered by Bob Sanders."

Comical yet true.

The End is Starting to Shape Up

It is officially the half way point of the NFL. The end has come in a less fuzzy view as many teams have shown enough for us to get a clear view of what kind of team they really are. Teams like the Patriots and Colts have shown they are the elite of the elite. A close loss definitely does not count out the Colts from this category as many would argue their loss this past weekend was a late game melt down.

After the two of the elite of the elite there are teams that can both win and lose any given Sunday. Don't get me wrong though these teams know how to win. Dallas and Green Bay rise to the top of this particular category as they have shown week after week that they are both very good at covering up for their flaws. The Steelers, another among this category, showed their muscle on Monday night by obliterating the Ravens on a dingy night Pittsburgh. After the upper echelon of this category leaves a few others in the playoff hunt toward the end of the season.

First the New York Giants. They have maybe the best defensive front in the league with both big name players in Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan with two less known individuals on the rise in Notre Dame grad Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka. In addition to this solid Defensive front is a very balanced offensive attack starring QB Eli Manning, RB Brandon Jacobs, and WR Plaxico Burress. The Detroit Lions have also made some noise as I highlighted in an earlier post. Read that and you should be able to find out a good idea of the great things going on in Mo-town. The upstart Tennessee Titans are the final of the 6-2 teams in the league. They have a franchise quarterback in Vince Young that has led them both through his athletic ability and leadership skills. One thing that many people have learned from the Titans is that Lendale White is a prime time running back. His numbers are comparable to those of Reggie Bush.White has 613 rushing yards on the season with 5 TD's to Reggie's 434 yards rushing and 5 overall TD's.

The other teams that look to make some noise come playoff time are the surprising Cleveland Browns, the Jags, the Saints, Redskins, and Bucs. But as we have learned thus far in the college football season, football can provide many upsets and who knows who will have a shot at the championship come late January.

Still number two!!!

I heard one of my buddies today who is a big Bronco's fan that the Colts should be dropped in the rankings because of their loss to the Patriot's on Sunday. That is ridiculous! How could a team that was undefeated coming into the game, all of the sudden drop in ranking because of a late game break down. The Patriot's did not deserve to win that game on Sunday after the poor performance from Brady throwing two interception's and many penalties against them, although I guess the sun shines on a dogs ass too. Also, if you watched the game at you, it is easy to see that since Harrison did not play, it was a lot easier for the Patriot's defense. They stopped the Colts many times because they could concentrate more on Wayne, Gonzalez, and Clark rather than having to put multiple defenders on Harrison. When Harrison heals up and comes off the injured list, I think the game would change drastically. Patriot's really did not impress me on Sunday, although they did get the win. As a Colt fan, we will let them have the win because post-season will be a different story.

The seasons not over yet

So the colts aren't 8-0, it's not so bad. They still lead the AFC south and they still have a promising look on the rest of the season. One of the big reasons why they lost yesterday was the lack of depth that the colts had in their receivers. Addai ended up taking the blunt of the offense on his shoulders, were he went for 112 yards on the ground and another 114 yards receiving. Thanks for the shoulders Joe. The Colts didn't have Marvin Harrison in the game and this really does limit the amount of talent they have on the field. What I mean by this is that with Marvin out of the game Reggie Wayne is now the primary receiver. Wayne's good, but I don't think he is good enough yet to be the primary receiver. Also with Harrison’s absences the Colts now have to rely more on the rookie Gonzalez, and the slot receiver Clark, to come up and be a reliable receivers. Another reason why the Colts didn't win was it seemed as though Peyton was never comfortable the whole game. I mean yea he had his shinning moments, but for the majority of the game he seemed uneasy. Again a big factor of that would have to be the absences of Harrison. Without Harrison on the field the Patriots could play more of a zone defense and didn't really have to key on more then one person. Were if they did have Harrison they would have to worry about not only Harrison but also Wayne.

But like I said in the beginning it's not the end of the world. The colts will still make the playoffs. They will make it to the AFC championship game. The only bad thing is now they probably won't get home field advantage if they end up playing the Pats for the AFC championship. So Colts fans have no fear, still believe in your Colts, just this time around the Colts will have to disappoint the Patriots fans at New England.

Fantasy Football?

Ok so another post about a thing that pisses me off. Fantasy Football, I know all of you are wondering why in the hell would i not like Fantasy Football. You all are saying its just a fun thing to do or it keeps me intested in the other football teams. Now thats alright i guess but the thing that gets me upset with it is that it has completely changed how people have watched the game of football. It has changed the way fans haved watched football because they no longer root for a team. They root for players, and not just players on one team. No, No, they root for certain players on different teams. Again you might be wondering why this is so bad, i feel that you should root for a team. Football is a huge team sport and should never be a single player sport. Now you do have your star athletes that tend to put themselves apart from others, but all in all its a team sport. So when you have people that only care about if one person on the team does well, it really does go against the team aspect of football.

Another reason i don't enjoy fantasy football is that when i did try it for the one year, i found myself not only cheering for the players and not the team. I also found myself at times hoping that a certain player would play well against my favorite team, just so i could get fantasy points. That was actually one of the huge reasons i don't "play" fantasy football any more. Now i could just be blowing smoke out of my behind but fantasy football has changed the ways fans have viewed the game and in a negative way.

Michigan is BACK

Right now Michigan is riding on the best win streak besides the undefeated teams with seven straight wins since their first two lost at the beginning of the season. They are also undefeated in their conference along side their arch nemesis Ohio State. I said at the beginning if Michigan can beat all their next opponents after Oregon that can get into a BCS bowl mostly likely. Mike Hart really lead his and coach out of hell in a very sad 0-2 start. After all these upsets and Michigan's seven straight wins they have finally got themselves back in the ranking at #12 in the BCS standing and #15 in the AP top 25. As everybody can see alot of great teams this season have one, two, and in some cases three lost (Florida and Kentucky). Even #4 ranked Oregon who beat Michigan has a lost.

Right now Michigan has three games left, currently #1 Ohio State is at the end of the schedule. Which if things going as expected that will be the biggest Big 10 conference showdown this season and also decide a few positions in the final BCS standing. I believe Michigan can get to Ohio State still undefeated in the conference and beat Ohio State

Today they visit Michigan State for what sure should be another tough one. At this point in the season every next game is their most important game and a team is only as good as there last game. With Hart and Henne back from injury Michigan is strong and they control their own faith right now. On paper Michigan can and should beat Michigan State.

Ohio State is Untouchable

I personally do not like Ohio State. I hate when people jump on a bandwagon because a certain team is doing good and then act like they have been rooting for them all along. I have to give props to OSU though because year in and year out, they do have a respectable football program and whether or not I want to admit it, they are untouchable this year.
Being ranked number 1 in the BCS, OSU has talent coming out of its ears. Today, Ohio State had a challenge ahead of them facing number twenty-one ranked Wisconsin. Number twenty-one doesn't sound to hot really, but Wisconsin has been hot lately and with a record of 7-3, OSU had to watch out for them!
The game was a pretty good game until the fourth quarter came along, and Wisconsin just flat couldn't handle OSU anymore. The game was tied up at the end of the third 17-17, but in the fourth quarter the Buckeyes outscored the Badgers 21-0. Ohio State running back Chris Wells scored three times in the second half, helping the Buckeyes overcome the tough time they were having with the Badgers. Wells is a tough running back with his explosive power, and his ability to change directions on a dime. He really impressed me today with his running ability. Not only did the offense impress me, the defense really had their game face on also. They held the Badgers to 12 yards on 37 attempts. I mean, that is ridiculous! How can a division one football team really rush the ball over three times more than the yards they pick up. Ohio States defense really came to play today!
I don't necessarily think the Badgers rank will really fall after the loss today because frankly, the Buckeyes are so good. If they can beat number twelve Michigan next week, their bowl game situation will improve. If they do not come out firing on all cylinders next week, their future will suffer severely. Ohio State has everything in the bag! They have a perfect season so far, and will most likely dominate the bowl game they qualify for. It really pisses me off that Ohio State can really be as good as they are although I guess they deserve their success.

Will This Be The End?

The Notre Dame football team has a 43 game winning streak over Navy. Will it finally come to an end this coming Saturday when Navy comes to South Bend? That's what is on every body's mind who has to do with the two programs. Without a doubt this is the one year that ND is the most vulnerable in. If Navy is ever to play a good game in the next ten years this is it. The Irish have gotten so bad the news networks seem to have stopped talking about them. That's hard to do.

It's been 44 years since their last loss against Navy, think Ara. I think it will be a little bit tougher to crack the streak then what people think. Though the defense might not show it through statistics I do believe that their rush defense is probably the best of all categories. Though they give up more rushing then passing yards realize this: they get blown out of every game real quick. What does this mean? It means that after the first quarter and a half, the other team just runs the ball in an effort to coast to another easy victory after savagely beating the secondary. However, the Navy offense isn't really a pass heavy team, or even a light passing team. They are run, run, run. That's why I think the Irish will continue the streak and with the team getting older next year, the streak will go on for awhile. A low scoring affair will bring the final score to: 16-7 Irish.

Size is irrelevant!!!

Most people know this weekend is one of the biggest games of the season in the NFL with the only two undefeated teams facing each other. Defending Superbowl Champions are facing the New England Patriots and while most people think the Patriots will win because of size and athletic ability, the Patriots have something in store.

5 foot 8 inch safety, Bob Sanders, from the Indianapolis Colts is the littlest guy on the field although his size has no reflection on his ability on the field. He reads the defense like a book, hits like a semi, and runs like a gazelle. Most critics say the Colts do not have big enough players. Even though the Colts may be undersized, the speed they bring to the field is incredible. Defensive lineman Dwight Freeny is not the biggest lineman in the NFL, nor the strongest, although he demands two to three blockers every time the ball is snapped because of his agility and speed. This opens up the rest of the lineman and also the linebackers to sneak in and get the quarterback because his presence. If the quarterback does get the pass in the air, he has to weave the ball through the secondary which includes Bob Sanders, Kelvin Hayden, and Antoine Bethea. The hard hitting of the Colts secondary intimidates most, and to be honest, the defensive work that they have done has really shown. It is obvious because of the ability to read the defense, and for a high percentage of the time, have most everyone covered.

Defense is not the only place the Colts are undersized. On offense, superstar Marvin Harrison is tiny. He is not super tall, cannot jump super high, and is not super strong, although he can run his route unlike anyone in the league and that is why he constantly brings many defenders on him. The defense is forced to cover Marvin, giving Reggie Wayne room to work to get himself a passing lane for Peyton to slide the ball through. This combination that the Colts have is unstoppable. The Patriots are really in trouble this weekend because I am sure the head coach Tony Dungy has prepared the Colts to dominate the Patiots.

Gotta love the fans

So i was at a the Purdue, Northwestern game last saturday, peacefully watching the game. When all of the sudden some jackass 5 rows up shouts something at the field. Naturally i don't really pay attention, but he seems to be repeatingly shouting stuff. So as the game goes on i start to pick up on what he is saying and non of the comments he says make any sense. Now it could be that he was drunk, but this guy knew nothing of football and was talking as if he did. Example: So its 4th and 4 on Purdues own 35 yard line. Now, the last time the Boilers were stuck with 4th down the went for it. One big difference from that 4th down to this one was that the boilers were on Northwesterns 35 so it would have been a long field goal or a short punt, so going for the first down made sense then. So anyways this guy is just yelling at Joe Tiller saying he's such an idiot and he doesn't know how to coach. All i can think is this is one of those kids in high school that would rather sit in the stands with the girls then go on the field and play football or any sport for that matter. So thats just one example, another would be i was watching a bears game. Why i was watching a bears game i don't know, but thats beside the fact, so the team that they were playing wouldn't kick the ball to Devin Hester, for obvious reasons. So after the game i ask a friend, who happends to be Bears "fan", and ask him what he thought of the game. Thinking that he would give me a some what respectable answer he stats,"man i wish the other kicker wouldn't have kicked so bad, would could have used Devin Hester." I just put my head down and walked away. So i might just be the only one who hates this but if not i'd love to hear about other dumb a$$ fans who know so much about football.