LION'S FANS DON'T DESERVE A WINNER & GATOR EYE-GOUGER SUSPENDED?
I felt bad for the people of Detroit, unemployment is around 15%, the Tigers blew the division crown in a one-game playoff, the Wolverines have been dreadful, but my sympathy for their sport's fans ended Sunday after their loss to the winless Rams. In April the Lions selected Matthew Stafford to be their franchise quarterback. Their early schedule was brutal, New Orleans, Minnesota, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Green Bay & Washington. They beat the Redskins to end their 19-game losing streak. Did anyone expect them to beat any other team on their schedule? Three weeks ago a Steeler lineman spun Stafford to the turf, dislocating his kneecap. He's a tough kid, he came back & started in just 2 weeks. Yes, they might have beaten the Rams Sunday & Stafford didn't have a good day throwing the ball, 14 of 33 for 168 & a pick isn't a good day. In the 4th quarter Stafford scrambled 4 yards for a touchdown then tossed a 2-point conversion to tie the game. Steven Jackson ran all over the Lions, carrying 22 times for 149 yards & a touchdown, but QB Mark Bulger was just as bad as Stafford & he's a 9-year veteran. The Lion fans booed Stafford unmercifully the last 5 minutes of the game & when he went to the bench, the catcalls from the stands were both personal & vulgar. I know their fans have a right to be frustrated & to boo, but did they think drafting Stafford would solve all the problems of this broken franchise? Wake up Detroit fans, the Ford family & former team president Matt Millen ruined this franchise, not Matthew Stafford. Is it bitterness toward Stafford for his mega-million dollar contract? If that's it, stop watching sports, because that part of it isn't going to change, whether your team is awful or a champion. Even if Stafford was a miracle worker, how many games could they realistically expect win with that schedule? This is going to take a while to clean up, Millen left a hell of a mess in Motown. Matthew Stafford is part of the solution, not the problem, wise up.
I told you yesterday the loss of DT Sedrick Ellis would hurt the Saint interior run defense & it did. Falcons' running back Michael Turner had his best game of the year last night with 151 yards. I thought they should have used him even more, he only had 20 carries & the Saints never really had an answer for Turner running between the tackles. If they plugged the interior gaps by jamming a safety & the outside linebackers inside, Turner just kicked the play outside for first down yardage. I see the Saints at 10-0 going into their game with New England November 30th.
In a story you'll hear more about this week, 2 Pittsburgh Steelers have a choice to make before they step onto the field for their Monday night game this week at Mile High Stadium. Safety Ryan Clark & wide receiver Santonio Holmes have a particular sickle-cell trait that can be dangerous at high altitude. Two years ago both played in a Steeler-Bronco game in Denver, Holmes stayed in the locker room until kickoff, breathing with an oxygen mask. Clark participated in full pregame warmups & played into the 4th quarter before he was taken to the locker room. That game was played October 21st & it would be Clark's last game that season. When he returned to Pittsburgh, he became critically ill, had his spleen & gall bladder removed, he lost 30 pounds & was in the ICU for over 2 weeks. Holmes could only remain on the field for 2-3 plays at a time before returning to the sideline for oxygen. He suffered no other ill effects from the game. Today, Steelers all-time receiving leader, Hines Ward, one of the toughest guys to ever play that position, told the Pittsburgh media both players shouldn't play Monday night, especially Clark. Ward spoke of the long term consequences his teammates could suffer from playing in Denver. Both players have a wife & kids, so some tough decisions will have to be made regarding their availability on Monday night.
The San Francisco Forty-Niners have taken some huge injury hits in the past 2 games. They lost starting right tackle Tony Pashos last week with a broken shoulder blade, he was placed on I.R., gone for the year. Last Sunday in Indianapolis, starting left tackle, Joe Staley suffered sprains to his MCL & PCL in his left knee. He is expected to miss about 6 weeks. Cornerback & punt returner, Nate Clements, also sustained a broken shoulder blade returning a punt & he will be lost for the season as well.
Playing next to Nebraska strongman, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, allows you to fly under the radar when your opponents try to gameplan against Suh. Jared Crick, Suh's running mate at defensive tackle, had the game of his life Saturday against Baylor. While the offensive line concentrated on stalemating Suh, Crick went wild against one-on-one blocking. He had 13 tackles, 7 for losses, 5 sacks & recovered a fumble. He also made any pro scouts who weren't paying attention to the 6-6, 285-pound sophomore, sit up & notice him. See, it's not all bad playing next to the very best lineman in college football, it has it's fringe benefits.
Ohio State enters the toughest two weeks of the schedule, a trip to Penn State & a visit from Iowa. Now they have to do it without their placekicker, Aaron Peltrey. He sprained his MCL & will miss 3-4 weeks.His backup, walk-on Devin Barclay, missed both field goal attempts Saturday, from 36 & 47 yards.
The Oregon Ducks have asked the PAC-10 Conference to allow them to reinstate running back LeGarrette Blount to their active roster. The preseason All-American pick had a horrific start to his senior season in Boise Idaho. Completely stifled by the Broncos on their Smurf Turf, Blount sucker-punched a Boise State player after the game & then had to be restrained by coaches & stadium security to keep him from going into the stands after jeering fans. Coach Chip Kelly threw Blount off the team the next day. The following week, Kelly thought he would try to save Blount's college career & told him he could stay in school & continue to practice with the team. Blount did everything right since that night & now Kelly wants to let him play in the last 2 or 3 games this season. After watching the Ducks dismantle USC Saturday night, I don't think Kelly is doing it to improve his team's chances of playing in the Rose Bowl. He's doing it to reward Blount for getting his act together & I think the PAC-10 should allow him to play again.
In another story of bad behavior, Florida linebacker, Brandon Spikes, was caught Saturday on TV cameras sticking his fingers inside the facemask of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey attempting to gouge his eyes. Other Gator defenders had stopped Ealey & as he was going down, Spikes clearly started gouging at his eyes. Spikes defended himself after the game saying a Bulldog player had gouged him in the eye in the first quarter. No sale Brandon, you have a visor on your helmet that prevents fingers inside your facemask. I've noticed your helmet comes off a lot this season, wear a smaller size, it can't protect you if it's laying on the ground. Gator coach Urban Meyer had "a stern talking to" with Spikes & decided to suspend him from the 1st half of next Saturday's Vanderbilt game. A team they should beat by 50 points! Wow, what a disciplinarian Meyer has become. I really liked him for a long time but I'm starting to see some chinks in the way he runs his team. Like USC, his team isn't the dominate force it's been the last few years. Without Tim Tebow, they wouldn't even be a top-20 team.
Notre Dame will get sophomore wide receiver Michael Floyd back this weekend against Navy. He suffered a broken collarbone earlier this season against Michigan. I believe he & Georgia WR A.J. Greene, also a sophomore, are the best wideouts in college football. Yes, better than Dez Bryant too.
Let's finish with a couple of feel-good stories from college football. The Temple Owls are 6-2 currently & 4-0 in the MAC. Their 27-24 win over the Naval Academy last Saturday assured the Owls of their first non-losing season since 1990. Coach Al Golden may ride this quick start right into the MAC championship game just like Turner Gill's Buffalo squad did last year. Southern Methodist University is currently 4-4 under coach June Jones. They were 1-11 last season, Jones' first with the Mustangs. He built the Hawaii program into a team that played in the Sugar Bowl 2 years ago, but he left for another challenge, rebuilding SMU. They have a legitimate shot at becoming bowl eligible this year. How big would this be? The Mustangs haven't played in a bowl game since 1984, the year before they received the "death penalty" from the NCAA, stripping them of all scholarships for 2 seasons, effectively crippling their football program. Good for both programs, led by coaches willing to do it the right way, we salute you.
I told you yesterday the loss of DT Sedrick Ellis would hurt the Saint interior run defense & it did. Falcons' running back Michael Turner had his best game of the year last night with 151 yards. I thought they should have used him even more, he only had 20 carries & the Saints never really had an answer for Turner running between the tackles. If they plugged the interior gaps by jamming a safety & the outside linebackers inside, Turner just kicked the play outside for first down yardage. I see the Saints at 10-0 going into their game with New England November 30th.
In a story you'll hear more about this week, 2 Pittsburgh Steelers have a choice to make before they step onto the field for their Monday night game this week at Mile High Stadium. Safety Ryan Clark & wide receiver Santonio Holmes have a particular sickle-cell trait that can be dangerous at high altitude. Two years ago both played in a Steeler-Bronco game in Denver, Holmes stayed in the locker room until kickoff, breathing with an oxygen mask. Clark participated in full pregame warmups & played into the 4th quarter before he was taken to the locker room. That game was played October 21st & it would be Clark's last game that season. When he returned to Pittsburgh, he became critically ill, had his spleen & gall bladder removed, he lost 30 pounds & was in the ICU for over 2 weeks. Holmes could only remain on the field for 2-3 plays at a time before returning to the sideline for oxygen. He suffered no other ill effects from the game. Today, Steelers all-time receiving leader, Hines Ward, one of the toughest guys to ever play that position, told the Pittsburgh media both players shouldn't play Monday night, especially Clark. Ward spoke of the long term consequences his teammates could suffer from playing in Denver. Both players have a wife & kids, so some tough decisions will have to be made regarding their availability on Monday night.
The San Francisco Forty-Niners have taken some huge injury hits in the past 2 games. They lost starting right tackle Tony Pashos last week with a broken shoulder blade, he was placed on I.R., gone for the year. Last Sunday in Indianapolis, starting left tackle, Joe Staley suffered sprains to his MCL & PCL in his left knee. He is expected to miss about 6 weeks. Cornerback & punt returner, Nate Clements, also sustained a broken shoulder blade returning a punt & he will be lost for the season as well.
Playing next to Nebraska strongman, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, allows you to fly under the radar when your opponents try to gameplan against Suh. Jared Crick, Suh's running mate at defensive tackle, had the game of his life Saturday against Baylor. While the offensive line concentrated on stalemating Suh, Crick went wild against one-on-one blocking. He had 13 tackles, 7 for losses, 5 sacks & recovered a fumble. He also made any pro scouts who weren't paying attention to the 6-6, 285-pound sophomore, sit up & notice him. See, it's not all bad playing next to the very best lineman in college football, it has it's fringe benefits.
Ohio State enters the toughest two weeks of the schedule, a trip to Penn State & a visit from Iowa. Now they have to do it without their placekicker, Aaron Peltrey. He sprained his MCL & will miss 3-4 weeks.His backup, walk-on Devin Barclay, missed both field goal attempts Saturday, from 36 & 47 yards.
The Oregon Ducks have asked the PAC-10 Conference to allow them to reinstate running back LeGarrette Blount to their active roster. The preseason All-American pick had a horrific start to his senior season in Boise Idaho. Completely stifled by the Broncos on their Smurf Turf, Blount sucker-punched a Boise State player after the game & then had to be restrained by coaches & stadium security to keep him from going into the stands after jeering fans. Coach Chip Kelly threw Blount off the team the next day. The following week, Kelly thought he would try to save Blount's college career & told him he could stay in school & continue to practice with the team. Blount did everything right since that night & now Kelly wants to let him play in the last 2 or 3 games this season. After watching the Ducks dismantle USC Saturday night, I don't think Kelly is doing it to improve his team's chances of playing in the Rose Bowl. He's doing it to reward Blount for getting his act together & I think the PAC-10 should allow him to play again.
In another story of bad behavior, Florida linebacker, Brandon Spikes, was caught Saturday on TV cameras sticking his fingers inside the facemask of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey attempting to gouge his eyes. Other Gator defenders had stopped Ealey & as he was going down, Spikes clearly started gouging at his eyes. Spikes defended himself after the game saying a Bulldog player had gouged him in the eye in the first quarter. No sale Brandon, you have a visor on your helmet that prevents fingers inside your facemask. I've noticed your helmet comes off a lot this season, wear a smaller size, it can't protect you if it's laying on the ground. Gator coach Urban Meyer had "a stern talking to" with Spikes & decided to suspend him from the 1st half of next Saturday's Vanderbilt game. A team they should beat by 50 points! Wow, what a disciplinarian Meyer has become. I really liked him for a long time but I'm starting to see some chinks in the way he runs his team. Like USC, his team isn't the dominate force it's been the last few years. Without Tim Tebow, they wouldn't even be a top-20 team.
Notre Dame will get sophomore wide receiver Michael Floyd back this weekend against Navy. He suffered a broken collarbone earlier this season against Michigan. I believe he & Georgia WR A.J. Greene, also a sophomore, are the best wideouts in college football. Yes, better than Dez Bryant too.
Let's finish with a couple of feel-good stories from college football. The Temple Owls are 6-2 currently & 4-0 in the MAC. Their 27-24 win over the Naval Academy last Saturday assured the Owls of their first non-losing season since 1990. Coach Al Golden may ride this quick start right into the MAC championship game just like Turner Gill's Buffalo squad did last year. Southern Methodist University is currently 4-4 under coach June Jones. They were 1-11 last season, Jones' first with the Mustangs. He built the Hawaii program into a team that played in the Sugar Bowl 2 years ago, but he left for another challenge, rebuilding SMU. They have a legitimate shot at becoming bowl eligible this year. How big would this be? The Mustangs haven't played in a bowl game since 1984, the year before they received the "death penalty" from the NCAA, stripping them of all scholarships for 2 seasons, effectively crippling their football program. Good for both programs, led by coaches willing to do it the right way, we salute you.
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