The Patriots are undefeated and a serious threat to run the table this year.  I compare it to playing the card game hearts.  For those that have played it will make sense but those that haven’t the game is pretty simple.  You either want all the hearts or none of them.  If you get all the hearts then every other player you are playing gets 26 points.  You don’t want points in hearts.  When a player is trying to get every heart we call it ‘running it’.  Others have other terms.  The best part about it is usually there is no defense when someone is ‘running it’.  That is what the Patriots are doing to teams. 

The Pats get each teams best shot week after week and come out shining.  They had their closest call against Baltimore but squeaked it out under a cloud of controversy.  This week they get the Giants and the tickets to that game are going crazy.  People want to witness the Patriots either win and go undefeated or lose and claim they were there when the Pats lost.  They aren’t going to lose, not to the Giants.  The Patriots are very hungry still and Tom Brady wants to play and he wants to win every game.  This cements his legacy and puts him in a class among the top 5 Qb’s to ever play the game.  He has a great sense for that and will get it. 

After this they will get a bye before needing to win 3 additional games to complete the undefeated season.  I don’t think they’ll win the Super Bowl.  I think they will run across a team that is going to play out of their heads and beat them.  The Ravens have lost 9 games in a row and nearly beat the Pats.  I can easily see another team doing that to them but having an offense that can finish them off.  The Pats will not win the Super Bowl.  I need to go to Vegas and throw some money at this one.

Brian Griese,  Jim Harbaugh, Tom Brady, Elvis Grbac, Todd Collins, John Navarre and soon to be Chad Henne.  I watched all these guys play in college in the Big Ten and absolutely torture my Illinois Fighting Illini.  They were all very good college players that went on to play, some star, in the NFL.  Tom Brady is obviously the most famous Michigan alum at QB but the school has produced some very good QB’s over the years. 

Now the Wolverines have hired Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia, a team that runs the spread offense with usually a QB that can run like current QB Pat White.  Rodriguez has built a very successful program at West Virginia and will undoubtedly do the same at Michigan, but I think this may take some time.  Michigan’s top recruit last year was a QB named Ryan Mallett who actually started some games this year while Chad Henne was out.  Mallett has a big time arm and would have undoubtedly started at Michigan for the next 3 years and put up some great stats in that system.  Mallett is a big strong kid who can’t run worth a lick.  He isn’t running the spread and I honestly expect him to transfer.  Toss in the fact that it was announced today that new coach Rodriguez has fired all the assistants that were with Lloyd Carr and you are going to have some windfall of two types. 

The first windfall comes from the current players who were recruited to play there under a certain system and style.  Kids go to Michigan to win and to get a chance at the NFL.  Michigan is a big time program.  When a new coach comes in and fires the assistants to bring in his own guys he is risking some problems.  I know that Rodriguez was aware of this occurring but at the same time players either buy in or don’t buy in and a move like that doesn’t always help.  Especially when Michigan is a school that has typically been considered very loyal to those involved in the success of the football program.

The second windfall comes from current recruits.  Michigan is slated to have a top 10 recruiting class.  Those kids have relationships with the coaches who were just fired.  They are the ones who recruited them and some will leave immediately.  Gone is a QB named John Weinke who was a highly regarded prospect.  He can’t run the spread so he left.  This is going to take place more than people think and I think we’ll see a lot of defections coming through the rest of the year and into the new year.  Rodriguez is a good coach who has had a winning program before.  He’ll go through some growing pains like all new coaches do but he’ll come out ok. 

What is going to be funny is not watching the Michigan of old anymore.   No more teams that are built on a stud QB, a stud RB and a stud WR.  I’m ok with that.

One thing that I’m not sure the NFL should do is announce the pro bowlers while there is still some time left in the season.  I mean the season isn’t really over yet and already people know if they are going to Hawaii or not.  I don’t like it.  Like normal, this year I’m a little bothered why some guys didn’t get picked.  I am not sharp enough to decide if any player who doesn’t get stats should go the pro bowl so that removes all offensive lineman, but anyone else is fair game.

Fred Taylor:  How did Fred get left off the list again?  I thought for sure he would get picked this season.  He’s averaging 5.1 yards a carry and has been amazing over the past month.  There is no way that the other running backs selected are having that productive of a season.  I love Willie Parker, Ladanian and Joseph Addai but the Jags are good because of Taylor.  After all, didn’t Taylor’s Jags just beat Parkers Steelers with Taylor stealing the show.  He’s on pace for nearly 1300 yards and is one of the most underrated backs in the history of the game.  Did you know he’s never been selected to a pro bowl and he’s a 10,000 career yard rusher?  Unbelievable snub if you ask me. 

Mario Williams- Mario is second in the AFC in sacks at 13  and is having his breakout year.  He had his coming out party against Denver where he lived up to all his billing and made that game a nightmare for Jay Cutler.  Mario Williams is a great player and will only get better. 

 Anti-Snub Team-

Troy Polamalu-  How does this guy make the team?  Does he ever even play anymore?  He’s missed significant time at his position due to injury and hasn’t been that good anyway.  I hate when the league votes in guys just because they are on the ballot. 

Jonathan Ogden falls into this category.  I think he could retire and if you put him on the ballot people would still vote for him. 

 Marion Barber- The guy will be lucky to get 1,000 yards this year and hasn’t produced much since week 6 but somehow he gets in the pro bowl.  It helped his case that Alexander and Gore had subpar seasons but that doesn’t mean that Barber deserves to get in.  Throw in another fullback if you have to but don’t give it to a Cowboy just because.  Clinton Portis will probably end up with 400-500 more yards than Barber and is a featured back, not a guy splitting a lot of carries.  Sure he has Ladell Betts but Portis has many more carries than Barber and is relied on by his team not a guy who is the last option of the offense.  When teams play Dallas they want Marion Barber to beat them.

If I chose the Pro Bowl teams it would be perfect each season.  I can’t and so each year I’ll get to write how some incompetent people choose the wrong people for honestly the least important game of the season.

The Miami Dolphins have won a game.  It sounds strange to even write it there.  The team that should have beaten the New England Patriots a few weeks ago has now fallen so low as to lose to the Miami Dolphins.  The Dolphins won the game on a basic over the middle pass where the receiver ran 60 yards for the touchdown.  I watched the play happen and I thought to myself “this guy is going to trip and fall at the 5 and fumble the ball through the end zone.”  It never happened.  He was able to score, the Dolphins won a game for the first time in a year and we are now a step closer to the end of the world.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick returner Michael Spurlock returned a kickoff for a touchdown on Sunday.  This may not seem like a big deal for most teams but for the Buccaneers it was historic.  The Bucs had never returned a kickoff for a touchdown before.  32 seasons, 1865 attempts and countless letdowns are now all over.  The Dolphins lose, the Bucs return a kick, what gives? 

As a die hard sports fan it leads me to believe that the Chicago Cubs might be next. 

I have watched this guy get hammered on the TV for the past few days and no coach has ever been more deserving.  I’ve tried to see it from his side of things but i can’t seem to get it. 

Is Arkansas this guy’s dream job?  No.  He doesn’t have one. 

He signed 3 contracts in the past 13 months that should’ve locked up 20 years yet he we are talking about this guy at Arkansas.

I’ve played on many teams before and the teams that do the best have a respect and a trust of their coach.  Think about it.  Any team that trusts their coach plays better for him and is willing to go the extra mile for their coach.  How can Petrino earn that trust at this point?  For Arkansas to be successful they need to be able to recruit well and Petrino just doesn’t have all the chips right now.  If I have a choice between Joe Paterno or Bobby Petrino i know who I would believer or trust and who i wouldn’t.  No 5 star recruit should trust anything that Petrino has to say because he’s a proven liar.  I’ve listened to the argument that Atlanta quit on him weeks ago and I think ‘are you serious’?  That doesn’t mean you quit, that means you work harder to earn trust and respect, not leave for the next job.  He abandoned his players, he abandoned his assistants that trusted him and he abandoned football fans everywhere.  It really bothers me that Arkansas welcomes this guy with open arms. 

Bobby Petrino better stay here a while because he won’t coach in the NFL again ever.  I find it fitting that Atlantas first round pick last year was a player from Arkansas and he was asked what he would tell fans of the program and he had one word, “disloyal”.

Many fantasy football leagues throughout the country are either in the playoffs or starting very soon and that’s a big deal.  It is actually estimated that over 500 million dollars will change hands by Christmas as a result of fantasy football leagues being over and the winners being crowned.  I was lucky enough to make my fantasy football playoffs and though are pot isn’t that big, I could really use the money this Christmas season. 

With the playoffs getting in swing I thought I would compile a short list of do’s and dont’s for the festive fantasy football playoff season.

Do:  Pick up any defense that is playing against the 49ers.  San Francisco is terrible and doesn’t score a lot of points.  Every point matters this time of year.

Don’t: Have an injured player on your team.  Now is not the time to worry about someone getting healthy or not.  Fill the spot with a productive healthy body and move on.  This isn’t a keeper league after all.  Waive the bum even if he is your favorite player. 

Do: Play any Patriot(except running back) that you can.  If you have the defense, play them.  If you have the kicker, play him.  Play the receivers and especially the quarterback.  Tom Brady already has locked up basically the most points and we have weeks to go still.  They are going to try to go undefeated and they should.

Don’t:  Play any Bears.  The defense is overrated.  The quarterback position is musical chairs at this point.  The tight ends have to have the ball thrown to them so that’s pointless and the running game is bad.  If you have a Bear player, cut him and find someone who can actually help.

Do:  Study matchups.  By now we know what teams are terrible against the pass and who aren’t.  Fluke seasons aren’t happening anymore.  Derek Anderson really isn’t that terrible to be playing no matter how many people i tell he is a fluke.  Frank Gore isn’t suddenly going to be good when each team puts 9 guys in the box agains the run to stop him. 

Don’t:  Worry about the NFL postseason.  I hear about players getting benched and rested for the playoffs and all that stuff but don’t take it into regard unless you have absolute knowledge of something.  Tom Brady won’t sit if the Pats are undefeated.  Players are naturally dinged up this time of year but go with what got you this far and you’ll fine. 

Lose and you’ll end up paying big.  Win and you’ll win some cash but more important than cash is “bragging rights”

I live in the heart of BYU and I am not a BYU fan or even close to a BYU football fan.  In fact, I hate a few things in life and I’ll number them for you:

1.  Duke University

2.  New York Yankees

3.  Dallas Cowboys

4.  BYU football

5.  Smell of cooked cabbage/brussel sprouts

But honestly i’m really upset about this bowl matchup that BYU got stuck with.  It is bad enough that the winner of the Mountain West gets lumped into this bowl every year, but now they get to play another unmotivated Pac 10 team in UCLA.  You may be thinking, didn’t they already play each other and you’d be right.  Ucla beat them earlier in the season but it was a very close game. 

To BYU this is their chance to go and play a Pac 10 school and prove that they belong in the upper echelon of college programs.  To UCLA their is nothing to gain or to lose.  If UCLA beats BYU they already did earlier in the year and if they lose a whole bunch of victim excuses come flying.  Byu fans have heard them for a year after they thumped Oregon in the same bowl game last season.  “Oregon wasn’t motivated because of the bowl game they were invited to,” or “Oregon had nothing to play for because it wasn’t on New Year’s day.”  The list goes on and on and I think the same thing will happen this season.  Ucla just fired their coach and he had a great relationship with those players.  He just decided he isn’t coaching in the bowl game so the whole “let’s win one for coach” is out the window.  What does Ucla have to gain here?  Nothing. 

My solution:  Put in a clause that doesn’t allow teams to play each other twice unless that is the National Championship game.  Nobody wants to watch this game much because they’ve already seen it.  Second, let’s get another conference winner a chance to play this conference winner.  It doesn’t make much sense to have a good BYU team play that wants to be tested play a team that shouldn’t even be in a bowl game.  Let BYU or the Mountain West winner play the winner of another mid major conference and see what happens.  We’ll get a far more exciting game and one that both teams want to see. 

Talk about taking the excitement out of a bowl game.  Nice job Vegas Bowl.

What a wild ride! After a regular season chuck full of #1 and #2 ranked teams getting upset week in a week out and then the complete collapse of West Virginia and Missouri, it is safe to say the BCS system is a bunch of ‘BS’. Of course we all have our opinions and I think it is safe to say there needs to be a playoff system to ensure that what has happened over the course of the 2007 season does not repeat itself. However, that will be saved for another blog. Rather I would like to focus my attention on the eventual selections in the title game, Ohio State and LSU.

From the moment the Mountaineers lost in embarrassing fashion to the Pitt Panthers “experts” throughout the country were throwing in their two cents as to who they believed belonged in the Big Dance. After the so called “experts” had their say even the coaches of LSU, USC and Georgia put forth a sort of political stump for the BCS voters as to why they deserved a shot at the national championship game. At one point I had to laugh and just say this is “getting out of control”. For that purpose I decided to throw my few bits into the mix and share with everyone why I believe LSU and Ohio State were the most appropriate teams selected to play for the BCS National Championship.

Reason #1 – Ohio State was ranked #3 in the previous week BCS rankings. As much as I dislike the Buckeyes and the fact that they did not have to do a thing to get where they are, I believe they rightfully deserve a spot in the big game because natural math says, “If #1 an #2 lose then of course #3 becomes the new #1.”  It just makes sense. The voters believed last week that Ohio State was the 3^rd best team in the country, as a result they by the process of elimination they should be ranked #1. Some of you may argue, “Well, based upon that line of thinking then Georgia should be in the title game.” Go ahead and read Reason #2 why there should be an exception for the Bulldogs.

Reason #2 – LSU won their division and the SEC title. Of course, those of you reading this may reply and say that “the BCS never stipulated that you have to be a division winner or a conference champ to qualify for the BCS title game.” I could agree with that statement IF the other teams ranked in the top 5 BCS standings did not win their respective conferences, had beaten several quality top 25 teams and the losses were mere flukes. However, for both Georgia they could not qualify for those standards and thus rightfully they were left out of a possible spot in the title game. On the other hand, LSU has several high profile wins during the season (Tennessee and Florida) and their only loses were the result of a dumb overtime rule (failed 2 point conversions) to some pretty darn good teams. In any case LSU won its conference, was ranked #1 in BCS rankings for several weeks and with the exception of a couple triple overtime games during the year they deserve to be playing of the College Football National Championship.