I love this time of year.  Baseball winds down and the playoffs begin.  As September turns, the weather gets  a little cooler and the smell of youth football fills my nose.  I love the smell of the grass on an early saturday and as I’ve gotten older it has changed from reminding me of my past to looking forward to college football season.  Is there anything better?

I don’t think so.  I don’t think anything tops waking up early saturday morning and seeing college football games going.  It seems it is the shortest season but the one that we all look forward to the most and it is finally here.  We only have to suffer through one more week until the games kick off and our hopes and dreams for our schools are either crushed or fulfilled.  It doesn’t get better.

here are my games that I’m watching this weekend:

Illinois vs Missouri-  This is the game I’ve waited forever for.  Missouri graduated a lot of players and Illinois has a lot of players back.  If ever they could beat Missouri it is this season.  Juice for Heisman.

BYU vs Oklahoma-  I always hope BYU loses and that hope is ripe to be fulfilled this weekend.  BYU should get slaughtered but if there was ever a time to creep up and beat someone early it is this first game.

This guy is killing me.  He feels like we should feel sorry for him.  I saw the footage of him in practice loafing around and disrespecting his teammates and the game and I’m sick of it.  I don’t care how much talent he has and how good of a player he might be.  Whoever the team leader is on that squad should grab him by the helmet and get him off the field.  I’m glad the Broncos suspended him for insubordination but does the DUMBCRAP actually believe that helps teams want him?  I’m serious now.  Forget the talent and forget what he can do on a field and let’s just look at how this idiot destroys a locker room.  Who would want him on their team?  Not me.

How many players have come out in support of Brandon Marshall?  How many fans have come out in support of Brandon Marshall?  Where does he even want to get traded to?  Do what I said about other whiny wide receivers and trade them to places with horrible qb’s.  Trade Marshall to the 49ers and see how many balls he gets.  Trade him to the Jets where Sanchez is going to get clobbered or maybe even the LIons.  He got to play with a pro bowl qb for years in Denver and he thinks he made Cutler the all pro.  What an idiot and who is advising this guy?  I can imagine that conversation “Brandon, let’s just dink around in practice and be insubordinate.  We’ll get people to film it happening and it will make you look like a complete fool who disgraces his teammates and the game.  I think then they’ll trade you.”  The problem is the teams that want him will be the desperate teams but the value for Marshall goes down to it’s lowest in a long time. 

If the idiot isn’t careful he’s going to be telling stories to neighborhood kids about how good he was in the NFL and how he blew his career thinking he was better than he was.  The game gives back what you put in and the best players know that.  The best players know that if you respect it and play hard then the money will come and it’s been proven.  Do the opposite and you are on your own?  Marshall is walking that thin line right now and he doesn’t even know it.

Mark Sanchez was named the Jets starter today and oh boy am I excited to see this.  This is a NUTS move if you ask me.  I know he was drafted to be the starter but to actually follow through with this is crazy.  If the market were Buffalo or Tampa Bay or Carolina then i can see this happening because those teams could afford to put a guy out there who won’t get a lot of media hype and see how he does, but throwing him into a starting role in New York is just crazy.  Eli Manning took years before he was comfortable and even after winning a super bowl and being the highest paid qb in the league he still isn’t safe or immune from those fans and that media.

All eyes will be on Sanchez and those eyes all will watch every move and every pass with the upmost expectations and this team had better win or it will only get worse.  Kellen Clemens was never the answer at qb for the Jets but he could’ve split time with Sanchez for 4 weeks until the rookie got his feet wet and adapted a little bit.  Instead he’s getting thrown into the fire in a city that doesn’t accept losing or poor play very well.  I’m worried about Sanchez and how he’ll fare because he’s not in Southern Cal anymore and he’s not playing for the #1 team in America.  He’s playing for the #1 toughest team to play for in America and he’s the new face of the franchise.  I sure hope he’s ready.

I’ve been alive a while and I can’t remember the last time Ole Miss was really any good in football.  I was alive through the Eli Manning years and they were good but not great.  I don’t remember Archie Manning in college but even if ARchie were still playing today I don’t think we’d see the same type of hype that is going on with the team today. 

Ole Miss is a preseason top 5 team in a number of preseason magazines and polls and they play in the toughest conference in the land.  How does someone justify the team being that good this season?

1.  The school has had several top recruiting classes for the past few years and took a big step forward last year while beating Florida at Florida.

2.  Ed Orgeron is long gone.  Orgeron recruited all these kids here and was praised for that skill however it never translated into wins for him and it cost him his job.  Houston Nutt is a proven winner.

3.  Jevan Snead returns at qb.  The one time Florida/Texas recruit threw for 28 td’s last season and has even more weapons this year.

4.  Schedule strength:  The two highest ranked teams they play have to come to Mississippi to play.  They have some tough road games in there but nobody that they couldn’t beat.

It boils down to the team being able to not buy into the hype and treat everything one week at a time.  Winning and losing is contagious and when teams like Ole Miss start losing it only reminds them what they’ve been doing for years.  However, if they win and start to buy into it it can really carry this team far.  I don’t think they win their conference but I think they go bowling on New Years Eve and that has to be considered a good season for them.

I’m not talking about the best players, I’m just talking about the players who put up the best fantasy numbers.  That means Tom Brady isn’t going to be my top QB even though he is who I would use if i were starting a team today.

QB-  Drew Brees…Easy the best qb available and he’ll prove it again this season.  Reggie Bush is healthy and will catch 80 passes easily this season.  This team throws the ball and throws a lot inside the red zone where they don’t have the power back to get them touchdowns.  BRees is a top 5 pick in most drafts depending on how your league scores.

RB-Adrian Peterson….He’s the best back in the league capable of putting up nearly 2000 yards if he stays healthy.  He’ll be even more successful if the Vikings can develop a passing game but either way Peterson should be the number1 pick in nearly every draft.

WR- Larry Fitzgerald…Great wideout who is the number 1 option for the Cards.  He has a solid core around him making it tough to double team.  He’s big, fast and productive.  He’s good for 1400-1600 yards and 10 plus touchdowns if he stays healthy.

Tight End:  Tony Gonzalez…this guy has been on top of this list for years and that doesn’t change now with the change of scenery.  With Antonio Gates healthy and Jason Witten poised to have a big season with TO gone from Dallas those 2 could rival Gonzalez but in the end Tony G has too much of a history and track record to look at anyone else in that spot.

Team Defense:  PITTSBURGH…If you pick or look at anyone else you are nuts.  The defending champs play great defense and create turnovers.  The only other strategy to employ is to pick the defense of the team that is playing Detroit.

Whomever is coaching Michael Vick in his current ordeal is doing an excellent job.  I can’t believe how well this is being done.  Michael isn’t throwing himself out there in the news every day or making a spectacle of himself.  He is doing what he should be doing and sitting back and letting things play out.  I’m very impressed.

We all would love to hear from him but then that would open him up to criticism and speculation so instead he makes small comments here and there with every statement very measured and laced with respect.  Are we seeing a changed Vick?  Was he always like this?

He wasn’t a completely outgoing sports figure prior to his debacle so this isn’t something completely shocking, but the level of humility is something that is surprising.  What is happening is people are starting to root for the guy to be successful.  Why wouldn’t we at this point?  He served his time and has seriously admitted he was wrong in what he had done and been a part of.  If he wants back in now then more power to him and no better way then to come back with humility and respect for the very thing/league that was shamed.  Genius move.

I remember watching Vick in college and laughing because he was amazing.  He did stuff that I compare to Bo Jackson because athletes like him don’t come around every day.  I want to see Vick back again and competing at a high level for a good team and i want to see  a city rally behind the guy who let down so many people years earlier.  We, as Americans, love people who screw up and admit it and then come back and fix it and this would be one of the better stories like that.  I hope it happens and that some team let’s him try to play again.

I’m in the middle of a horrible family move that I’m not a fan of.  I don’t like uprooting my family and taking them to a different place but sometimes the situation just calls for it.  I only bring this up because the move actually is helping the time go faster on the way to the football season starting. 

I’m a giant Illinois fan and I’m always pumped for their opening game vs Missouri.  Sure, it rarely turns out for the ILLINI but I have renewed hope every season and this is the same as those.  This month leading up to the kickoff is full of such build up and hype that the game rarely lets me down.  Last season as Missouri routed Illinois I watched every single play and loved it and I remember that game fondly despite the outcome for me.  I imagine we are all the same that way.  After all, is there such a thing as a bad football game?  I don’t think so.

The next 3 weeks will be filled with Heisman hype and National Championship predictions.  Injuries will happen and seasons will be ruined.  In some cases surprise players and teams will come out of nowhere to capture the heart of the average fan.  All of that is a tiny little 3 weeks away from getting started and I, for one, can’t wait.

What’s going to happen with T.O in Buffalo? 

I’ve listened to all sorts of talk radio opinions and the thoughts of everyone around the office and I’m ready to state my opinion on the guy…PRO BOWL SEASON

I can’t think of any other way for him to perform.  If he’s healthy he will add something to that offense that they haven’t seen or been around in a while. He gives immediate attention to that team once they have the ball and it will make Lee Evans that much better.  You have to lean the defense to one side or the other when you play the Bills and teams had better shift to Owens because he’s the better playmaker. 

I predict 70-80 catches for 1200 yards and 10 td’s.  For a player his age he is still playing for his one last big money contract.  He knows that if he has a great season he’ll be able to get one more massive payday before he walks away.  He stays in great shape and comes prepared.  He takes the spotlight off of every other player once he walks into the room.  The Bills are going to love it and respond like a different team.

Who would you pick for your college football quarterback?  Do you take the reigning Heisman winner Sam Bradford?  Do you take the former winner Tim Tebow?  Or do you take Colt McCoy from Texas as your starter?  Can you go wrong with any of them?

That is a very impressive list of players but for me I take Tim Tebow any day.  The guy has won 2 titles in 3 years and has won a heisman already.  He is the face of Florida football and college football in general.  When you combine the student athlete with the person and what he has accomplished in his short 21 years there are few people in the world who would compare.  Tim Tebow is the guy I’d want my daughters to marry and to top it off he’s one of the best leaders/qb’s to ever play the position in a collegiate uniform.

Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy are no bums whatsoever but for me I’ll take Tebow in any big game against anyone.