CLEARING UP A FEW WEEKEND ITEMS, FAVRE'S RUN COULD BE OVER & SOME BCS RANTING
I have told you how important all-pro safety Ed Reed is to the Baltimore Ravens. He underwent off-season hip surgery & was placed on the PUP list before training camp. He was activated last week & saw his first action yesterday. Reed made my point by intercepting two passes, recovering a fumble & making four tackles. The Ravens needed that yesterday as they barely overcame the win-deprived Buffalo Bills in overtime 37-34.
A player I've been ragging on for a year or better, Redskin DT Albert Haynesworth, had quite a game in Chicago yesterday. Playing the majority of defensive snaps for the first time this season, Haynesworth got 3 tackles, 2 for loss, a sack & two other QB hits. Albert has clashed with head coach Mike Shanahan & defensive coordinator Jim Haslett because he doesn't want to play in the Skins 3-4 defense. They benched him, bad-mouthed him to the press & fostered an environment of locker room mockery. Haynesworth comes with major expectations, the Redskins signed him to a $100-million free agent contract before last season & so far he's been a disappointment. Washington is winning with defense & if Haynesworth plays like this down the road, the Skins could stay in contention.
I need to give credit where credit is due, the Oakland Raiders scored 59-points yesterday in Denver. It was the highest point total by any Raider team in their 51-year history. Plus they did it in just 3-quarters. Tom Cable called off the dogs when the 4th period started.
Jared Allen said after last night's loss in Green Bay "we're a coulda, woulda, shoulda team right now." He & cornerback Antoine Winfield leveled criticism of Brett Favre & the offense because of their turnovers, which I have zero argument with, but for Allen(1 sack in 2010) & Winfield(given up 4 TD passes in 2010) to criticize any teammate for their play falls on deaf ears here at RFR. The Minnesota defense recorded 14-sacks in two games with Green Bay. Last night they got none. Favre threw 7 touchdown passes without an interception versus Green Bay last year, Sunday night only 1 TD pass & 3 picks. This afternoon coach Brad Childress said in his press conference Brett Favre has two small fractures of his right ankle. This could be the end of his 291-game consecutive starting record. Favre had an MRI this morning & is in a walking boot.
For the first time since 1979, the "World's largest outdoor cocktail party," the Georgia-Florida game played on a neutral field in Jacksonville, will be contested by two unranked teams. Yes, it's still a big rivalry, but with 4-4 Georgia & 4-3 Florida having down seasons, it certainly takes a lot of the excitement out of the matchup.
Having heard Gary Pinkel on every show on ESPN this morning, I have one thing to say, "forget about last Saturday night & get your head around the Nebraska Cornhuskers." Yes, it was a monkey off your back finally beating OU, but beating Nebraska is even bigger now, it sets up all kinds of postseason possibilities if the Tigers win. Since the Huskers don't play OU & they already lost to Texas, beating Mizzou is a huge deal to Nebraska, it keeps them alive for the Big-12 championship on their farewell tour before moving to the BIG TEN.
After watching the BCS show last night, I think it's already decided, Boise State will be seated at the kid's table once again when the bowl bids are announced. It's all so unfair too, but the way teams blow by them after a win, tells me the fix is in. Not a real fix, just a bias that works as well as a fix. I firmly believe if all the undefeated teams were to lose a game, even an undefeated Boise would still have great difficulty getting a seat with the grown-ups. Virginia Tech is undefeated in the ACC & will get the ACC's automatic BCS bowl bid.Tech is ranked 23rd in the BCS & 21st in the AP & USA Today/Coaches polls. Of course Boise beat Va Tech earlier this season. I have no doubt, Boise could go unbeaten in the ACC. Then there's the automatic bid for the Big East champion. Currently there's not a Big East team ranked in the top-25 of any poll, only Pitt & West Virginia have fewer than 3 losses. Any doubt Boise could cruise thru the Big East without losing. For that matter, TCU & probably Utah could do the same. This major conference elitism continues to rankle me. Listening to ESPN's resident pinheaded blowhard, Craig James, whine last night "well they don't play anybody" is precisely the bias I speak of. This is the pat answer when the subject of Boise in the BCS title game is discussed. They don't want Boise or TCU in this game because, God forbid, what if they won? It would invalidate their entire bogus BCS system. They'll probably get matched up with TCU or Utah, that way it minimizes the damage, they both can't beat two of the big boys, just beat up on each other. Plus the pundits like James would lose much of their credibility if Boise were to win the national championship & say, TCU were to beat the BIG TEN champ. The major conferences figure they can handle the ACC & Big East, but the fear of the unknown Boise State, TCU & Utah bring to the table scare the hell out of them. No one wants to lose to one of these programs, so just relegate them to the kid's table & erase the risk.
A player I've been ragging on for a year or better, Redskin DT Albert Haynesworth, had quite a game in Chicago yesterday. Playing the majority of defensive snaps for the first time this season, Haynesworth got 3 tackles, 2 for loss, a sack & two other QB hits. Albert has clashed with head coach Mike Shanahan & defensive coordinator Jim Haslett because he doesn't want to play in the Skins 3-4 defense. They benched him, bad-mouthed him to the press & fostered an environment of locker room mockery. Haynesworth comes with major expectations, the Redskins signed him to a $100-million free agent contract before last season & so far he's been a disappointment. Washington is winning with defense & if Haynesworth plays like this down the road, the Skins could stay in contention.
I need to give credit where credit is due, the Oakland Raiders scored 59-points yesterday in Denver. It was the highest point total by any Raider team in their 51-year history. Plus they did it in just 3-quarters. Tom Cable called off the dogs when the 4th period started.
Jared Allen said after last night's loss in Green Bay "we're a coulda, woulda, shoulda team right now." He & cornerback Antoine Winfield leveled criticism of Brett Favre & the offense because of their turnovers, which I have zero argument with, but for Allen(1 sack in 2010) & Winfield(given up 4 TD passes in 2010) to criticize any teammate for their play falls on deaf ears here at RFR. The Minnesota defense recorded 14-sacks in two games with Green Bay. Last night they got none. Favre threw 7 touchdown passes without an interception versus Green Bay last year, Sunday night only 1 TD pass & 3 picks. This afternoon coach Brad Childress said in his press conference Brett Favre has two small fractures of his right ankle. This could be the end of his 291-game consecutive starting record. Favre had an MRI this morning & is in a walking boot.
For the first time since 1979, the "World's largest outdoor cocktail party," the Georgia-Florida game played on a neutral field in Jacksonville, will be contested by two unranked teams. Yes, it's still a big rivalry, but with 4-4 Georgia & 4-3 Florida having down seasons, it certainly takes a lot of the excitement out of the matchup.
Having heard Gary Pinkel on every show on ESPN this morning, I have one thing to say, "forget about last Saturday night & get your head around the Nebraska Cornhuskers." Yes, it was a monkey off your back finally beating OU, but beating Nebraska is even bigger now, it sets up all kinds of postseason possibilities if the Tigers win. Since the Huskers don't play OU & they already lost to Texas, beating Mizzou is a huge deal to Nebraska, it keeps them alive for the Big-12 championship on their farewell tour before moving to the BIG TEN.
After watching the BCS show last night, I think it's already decided, Boise State will be seated at the kid's table once again when the bowl bids are announced. It's all so unfair too, but the way teams blow by them after a win, tells me the fix is in. Not a real fix, just a bias that works as well as a fix. I firmly believe if all the undefeated teams were to lose a game, even an undefeated Boise would still have great difficulty getting a seat with the grown-ups. Virginia Tech is undefeated in the ACC & will get the ACC's automatic BCS bowl bid.Tech is ranked 23rd in the BCS & 21st in the AP & USA Today/Coaches polls. Of course Boise beat Va Tech earlier this season. I have no doubt, Boise could go unbeaten in the ACC. Then there's the automatic bid for the Big East champion. Currently there's not a Big East team ranked in the top-25 of any poll, only Pitt & West Virginia have fewer than 3 losses. Any doubt Boise could cruise thru the Big East without losing. For that matter, TCU & probably Utah could do the same. This major conference elitism continues to rankle me. Listening to ESPN's resident pinheaded blowhard, Craig James, whine last night "well they don't play anybody" is precisely the bias I speak of. This is the pat answer when the subject of Boise in the BCS title game is discussed. They don't want Boise or TCU in this game because, God forbid, what if they won? It would invalidate their entire bogus BCS system. They'll probably get matched up with TCU or Utah, that way it minimizes the damage, they both can't beat two of the big boys, just beat up on each other. Plus the pundits like James would lose much of their credibility if Boise were to win the national championship & say, TCU were to beat the BIG TEN champ. The major conferences figure they can handle the ACC & Big East, but the fear of the unknown Boise State, TCU & Utah bring to the table scare the hell out of them. No one wants to lose to one of these programs, so just relegate them to the kid's table & erase the risk.
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