Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Vault
I am opening up the vault and here are the goods.
1. The win for the Cowboys was important for the Cowboys because it pulls the Cowboys tied with the Giants after their loss last night with the Jaguars. The Colts were bound to lose a game sooner or later. Their best chance to go undefeated was last year when they were blowing out opponents and averaging 16 points margin of victory as opposed to 6 points this year. The Colts still have the division in hand because it would take a big collapse for them to lose the division to Jacksonville.
2. Tony Romo is looking more and more comfortable as the Cowboys QB. I wondered how he would do in his first start at Texas Stadium and he proved he could do well.
3. Mike Vanderjagt better get his leg and head straightened out because if a game comes down to a field goal down the stretch. Field goal range for him right now is an extra point. It seems to me that when it is an important game or a situation when the game is on the line, he freezes and I assume facing his old team made him more nervous but I hope he can get over it.
4. The Colts loss could be a good thing. Last year, I felt what doomed the Colts was they clinched everything too early and did not really play a meaningful game until the playoff loss to the Steelers. With the Chargers and Ravens both at 8-2 and the Colts at 9-1, the Colts can keep their focus for a few extra weeks and not get so complacent.
5. The Chargers I feel are the best team in the AFC. The Colts have the better record, but the Chargers are playing better and it would not surprise me if they went to the Super Bowl. Ladainian Tomlinson is playing on a whole new level and Philip Rivers is playing better than expected (much better than Eli Manning, without the experience) and they are without two or their best defenders in Luis Castillo and Shawn Merriman.
6. The Eagles season is in huge jeoprady but I am not willing to count them out just yet. Donovan McNabb's injury is a big blow but I recall four years ago when McNabb broke his leg and then his backup injured himself that the Eagles went on a winning streak and won home-field in the playoffs without McNabb. WHo was the QB? AJ Feely, who happens to be third on the depth chart in Philadelphis. The Eagles are 5-5 but don't count them out yet.
7. I know someone who was not too upset about McNabbs' injury, TO.
8. The Bengals are trying to make a comeback and it looks like they are. They can still make the wild card but the defense needs to play better. If someone tells me a defense gave up 500 yards in passing, I assume the team lost but not in this case. The Saints are fading and have lsot 3 of 4 but agian, it seems to be defensive woes.
9. The Ravens are the most boring 8-2 team around and no one even knows it.
10. Eli Manning was terrible yesterday and a lot has been made about he does not have that fire instinct the great quarterbacks have had. Tony Romo seems to have more life in him than Manning. It is the "it" factor. Most people know what I am talking about. The gift that a player has that shows he knows he is in charge, a swagger, an arrogance, an in-your-face attitude. The supposedly two best teams in the NFC, Bears and Giants, both have quarterbacks that are good, but I don't feel have the "it" factor. I know if you see Tony Romo, you can tell he has the "it" factor. The Cowboys, if they continue to play the way they do could position themselves to be the beat team in the NFC. What does not sell me right now on the BEars is the play of Rex Grossman. The defense will be playing at an all-world level all year, but the Cowboys could win, probably like the Bears win at the Jets, 10-0.
11. No NFL Network still in my area. I don't get it. The NFL wants ratings so bad, I mean that is why the Monday Night games were moved to ESPN and the Sunday night package got the flex schedule as well as the some of the CBS and FOX games. So what kind of ratings victory will it be if only 30% of the nation is watching Chiefs-Broncos on THanksgiving night? And don't tell me NFL to get a dish or call my cable company. You better ease up on your dealings because now you will lose out.
12. The BCS is heading toward a big mess and I love it. So far we know that Ohio State will be in the BCS title game but who they will face? Michigan, USC, Arkansas, Florida, Notre Dame are the candidates. Two of these will be eliminated ao that only three are left standing. Notre Dame-USC play each other and Florida and Arkansas should meet for the SEC title game. That will leave Michigan and the winnesr of these two games. I have no problem with a Ohio State-Michigan rematch but as a fan, I would like just to see another game. Ohio-State-USC would look intriguing as well as Notre Dame. I have a feeling if Notre Dame wins, they will surpass Michigan in the rankings. Michigan beat Notre Dame. The BCS folks.
13. I know people say that if there was a playoff, the Michigan-Ohio State game would not have meant anything. In college basketball though, I don't see the players and fans with Duke-North Carolina not getting into it and it usually is the last game. I know basketball is not as physcially demanding as football, but an eight team playoff would work. You take the winners of the BCS conferences (Big Ten, Pac-10, Big 12, SEC, Big East, ACC) and two at large bids to be determind by the BCS rankings. You think Michigan-Ohio State would have still not have had the same feeling? There would have been no guarantee that the loser would get the at-large bid.
14. I love the call ERic Mangini made for the Jets on the onside kick. Was it a risk, yes but sometimes you have to do that. I love coaches that play to win.
15. Ryan Howard and Justin Morneau are the MVPs of baseball. No arguement from me. THe AL race was too wide open to have a clear-cut winner and Ryan Howard had a better statistical year than Albert Pujols and the Phillies were in contention all the way until the final weeks.
16. Fox has chosen to cancel the OJ Simpson TV interview where he was supposedly confesses. For OJ to do it is just horrendous but I think people should cut FOX some slack. If any other major media outlet was to get OJ Simpson and get him to confess to a murder, or to sort of explain if he did do it, they would jump at it.
17. Steve Spurrier to the Miami Hurricanes? I always felt he would want a major program and was kind of surprised he went to South Carolina when he probably could have had a more serious contender to build. But he loves the challenge of coaching the Gamecocks and would not leave but this means Larry Coker is done in Miami.
18. I have been critical of Michael Irvin for the past few years from his work on ESPN NFL Countdown. But he did a good job on Sunday. First he actually came down on a receiver! He criticized Oakland receiver Randy Moss for his bad mood results in bad play attitude and he did a good piece on discgraced Titans DE Albert Haynesworth. Don't say I don't say anything nice Michael, but good job.
19. Alfonso Soriano reportedly signed an eight year $136 million dollar deal with the Chicago Cubs. That is supposed to be the 5th highest contract in history. No player is ever worth the money, but Soriano is really not worth it. I wanted the Rangers to sign Soriano to play left field but not at a price that would set the Rangers back like the A-Rod contract did. But Soriano is very mediocre at left field and is very mistake-prone at second. It is not that he can't play defense, but he lacks focus and concentration and will have these mental lapses that are costly. Heaven knows how many times a ground went to him and I prayed "please get it please get it". Also he is a free swinger at the plate. Sure he can hit for average and power and has dangerous speed being the only member of the 40-40-40 club. But he will strikeout a lot and will not run out ground balls or pop-ups. $136 million for that? It does show one thing, the Cubs are planning on trying to field a winner this year.
20. A report out of the Boston Globe says that the Red Sox are shopping Manny Ramirez again and one of the teams that are interested is the Rangers. The Red Sox reportedly want Michael Young in return, and the Rangers should not do it. Young is the Derek Jeter, JAson Varitek of the Rangers. And you would trade him for a guy who has more mental lapses than Alfonso Soriano? Don't do it.
21. I loved Mike Nolan and Jack Del Rio wearing suits instead of league apporved sports wear. What is the NFL so afraid of. Tom Landry, Vince Lombardi and other greats wore suits. The NBA does not reuire the coaches to wear a standard attire or the NHL as well. I cannot remember when Joe Paterno ever wore something other than a tie. Let it go NFL. I doubt you are proud of Bill Belichecks' wardrobe.
22. Got a Nintendo Wii!! Great controls. Great games. Loving it. The reason why I made no picks.
23. Went to the Oklahoma State-Texas Tech game. There were still tickets available. Come on Lubbock! Support your team! It should not take Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M to make you sell out.
24. Bo Schembechler passed away the eve of the Ohio State-Michigan game. I have wondered where his legacy is as far as coaching greats go. I use the famous PTI comparison if there were a Mount Rushmore of college football coaches, where would he be? Or would he be on there? I know Bear Bryant, Knute Rockne, Joe Paterno would be on there. Other candidates include Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne, Darrel Royal, Barry Switzer and Woody Hayes. It is tough.
25. Andre "Dirty" Waters died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the ehad yesterday. As a Cowboy fan, I remember this guy was one of the dirtiest players to play in the NFL when he played with the Eagles. HE was often late on tackles, fined and flagged for it several times and once told reporters that Emmitt SMith was going to have to be taken off on a stretcher after he was finished with him. Some say he was not the mean guy he is portrayed to be, but I can't get that image out of my mind of his late hits, the helmet in the back of Emmitt Smith.
26. Ladainian Tomlinson will be the number 1 pick next year on everybody's fantasy draft.
27. New Enlgand should probably not try to win the home-field advantage this year. 2-3 at home, 5-0 on the road.
28. Did you see that facial Nate Robertson did on Yao Ming?! Taht will be replayed for years to come. Yao knew it to, by his reaction.
29. Emmitt Smith wins Dancing with the Stars. Mario Lopez needs to learn how to win with grace, instead of the facial expressions made by him and his partner during the announcement.
30. Have a friend who is a disgruntled Detroit Lions fan. He claims he is going through a divorce with them, tired of the losing ways. After this weekend, don't blame him. They lost to Arizona. Arizona. Arizona. And now old bust quarterback Joey Harrington is coming to town on Thanksgiving to put a beat down on the team that gave up on him. Divorce is probably needed but, if you are a true fan, you are there through the bad times and the good times.
31. Nick Saban should be told to do his best coaching during the first half of the season and not just the second half.
32. Tom Izzo to coach the Michigan State Football team? I hope this is a joke because the guy who suggested this should be fired or removed from his position for even thinking about this. So let me get this straight, Steve MAriucci is not qualified enough to interview but Izzo is? No knock against Izzo, but he coaches basketball not football. So is Bob Knight going to coach the Red Raider football team or MAck Brown the Longhorn basketball team next?
Closing the vault now. My time is up, Happy Thanksgiving!
1. The win for the Cowboys was important for the Cowboys because it pulls the Cowboys tied with the Giants after their loss last night with the Jaguars. The Colts were bound to lose a game sooner or later. Their best chance to go undefeated was last year when they were blowing out opponents and averaging 16 points margin of victory as opposed to 6 points this year. The Colts still have the division in hand because it would take a big collapse for them to lose the division to Jacksonville.
2. Tony Romo is looking more and more comfortable as the Cowboys QB. I wondered how he would do in his first start at Texas Stadium and he proved he could do well.
3. Mike Vanderjagt better get his leg and head straightened out because if a game comes down to a field goal down the stretch. Field goal range for him right now is an extra point. It seems to me that when it is an important game or a situation when the game is on the line, he freezes and I assume facing his old team made him more nervous but I hope he can get over it.
4. The Colts loss could be a good thing. Last year, I felt what doomed the Colts was they clinched everything too early and did not really play a meaningful game until the playoff loss to the Steelers. With the Chargers and Ravens both at 8-2 and the Colts at 9-1, the Colts can keep their focus for a few extra weeks and not get so complacent.
5. The Chargers I feel are the best team in the AFC. The Colts have the better record, but the Chargers are playing better and it would not surprise me if they went to the Super Bowl. Ladainian Tomlinson is playing on a whole new level and Philip Rivers is playing better than expected (much better than Eli Manning, without the experience) and they are without two or their best defenders in Luis Castillo and Shawn Merriman.
6. The Eagles season is in huge jeoprady but I am not willing to count them out just yet. Donovan McNabb's injury is a big blow but I recall four years ago when McNabb broke his leg and then his backup injured himself that the Eagles went on a winning streak and won home-field in the playoffs without McNabb. WHo was the QB? AJ Feely, who happens to be third on the depth chart in Philadelphis. The Eagles are 5-5 but don't count them out yet.
7. I know someone who was not too upset about McNabbs' injury, TO.
8. The Bengals are trying to make a comeback and it looks like they are. They can still make the wild card but the defense needs to play better. If someone tells me a defense gave up 500 yards in passing, I assume the team lost but not in this case. The Saints are fading and have lsot 3 of 4 but agian, it seems to be defensive woes.
9. The Ravens are the most boring 8-2 team around and no one even knows it.
10. Eli Manning was terrible yesterday and a lot has been made about he does not have that fire instinct the great quarterbacks have had. Tony Romo seems to have more life in him than Manning. It is the "it" factor. Most people know what I am talking about. The gift that a player has that shows he knows he is in charge, a swagger, an arrogance, an in-your-face attitude. The supposedly two best teams in the NFC, Bears and Giants, both have quarterbacks that are good, but I don't feel have the "it" factor. I know if you see Tony Romo, you can tell he has the "it" factor. The Cowboys, if they continue to play the way they do could position themselves to be the beat team in the NFC. What does not sell me right now on the BEars is the play of Rex Grossman. The defense will be playing at an all-world level all year, but the Cowboys could win, probably like the Bears win at the Jets, 10-0.
11. No NFL Network still in my area. I don't get it. The NFL wants ratings so bad, I mean that is why the Monday Night games were moved to ESPN and the Sunday night package got the flex schedule as well as the some of the CBS and FOX games. So what kind of ratings victory will it be if only 30% of the nation is watching Chiefs-Broncos on THanksgiving night? And don't tell me NFL to get a dish or call my cable company. You better ease up on your dealings because now you will lose out.
12. The BCS is heading toward a big mess and I love it. So far we know that Ohio State will be in the BCS title game but who they will face? Michigan, USC, Arkansas, Florida, Notre Dame are the candidates. Two of these will be eliminated ao that only three are left standing. Notre Dame-USC play each other and Florida and Arkansas should meet for the SEC title game. That will leave Michigan and the winnesr of these two games. I have no problem with a Ohio State-Michigan rematch but as a fan, I would like just to see another game. Ohio-State-USC would look intriguing as well as Notre Dame. I have a feeling if Notre Dame wins, they will surpass Michigan in the rankings. Michigan beat Notre Dame. The BCS folks.
13. I know people say that if there was a playoff, the Michigan-Ohio State game would not have meant anything. In college basketball though, I don't see the players and fans with Duke-North Carolina not getting into it and it usually is the last game. I know basketball is not as physcially demanding as football, but an eight team playoff would work. You take the winners of the BCS conferences (Big Ten, Pac-10, Big 12, SEC, Big East, ACC) and two at large bids to be determind by the BCS rankings. You think Michigan-Ohio State would have still not have had the same feeling? There would have been no guarantee that the loser would get the at-large bid.
14. I love the call ERic Mangini made for the Jets on the onside kick. Was it a risk, yes but sometimes you have to do that. I love coaches that play to win.
15. Ryan Howard and Justin Morneau are the MVPs of baseball. No arguement from me. THe AL race was too wide open to have a clear-cut winner and Ryan Howard had a better statistical year than Albert Pujols and the Phillies were in contention all the way until the final weeks.
16. Fox has chosen to cancel the OJ Simpson TV interview where he was supposedly confesses. For OJ to do it is just horrendous but I think people should cut FOX some slack. If any other major media outlet was to get OJ Simpson and get him to confess to a murder, or to sort of explain if he did do it, they would jump at it.
17. Steve Spurrier to the Miami Hurricanes? I always felt he would want a major program and was kind of surprised he went to South Carolina when he probably could have had a more serious contender to build. But he loves the challenge of coaching the Gamecocks and would not leave but this means Larry Coker is done in Miami.
18. I have been critical of Michael Irvin for the past few years from his work on ESPN NFL Countdown. But he did a good job on Sunday. First he actually came down on a receiver! He criticized Oakland receiver Randy Moss for his bad mood results in bad play attitude and he did a good piece on discgraced Titans DE Albert Haynesworth. Don't say I don't say anything nice Michael, but good job.
19. Alfonso Soriano reportedly signed an eight year $136 million dollar deal with the Chicago Cubs. That is supposed to be the 5th highest contract in history. No player is ever worth the money, but Soriano is really not worth it. I wanted the Rangers to sign Soriano to play left field but not at a price that would set the Rangers back like the A-Rod contract did. But Soriano is very mediocre at left field and is very mistake-prone at second. It is not that he can't play defense, but he lacks focus and concentration and will have these mental lapses that are costly. Heaven knows how many times a ground went to him and I prayed "please get it please get it". Also he is a free swinger at the plate. Sure he can hit for average and power and has dangerous speed being the only member of the 40-40-40 club. But he will strikeout a lot and will not run out ground balls or pop-ups. $136 million for that? It does show one thing, the Cubs are planning on trying to field a winner this year.
20. A report out of the Boston Globe says that the Red Sox are shopping Manny Ramirez again and one of the teams that are interested is the Rangers. The Red Sox reportedly want Michael Young in return, and the Rangers should not do it. Young is the Derek Jeter, JAson Varitek of the Rangers. And you would trade him for a guy who has more mental lapses than Alfonso Soriano? Don't do it.
21. I loved Mike Nolan and Jack Del Rio wearing suits instead of league apporved sports wear. What is the NFL so afraid of. Tom Landry, Vince Lombardi and other greats wore suits. The NBA does not reuire the coaches to wear a standard attire or the NHL as well. I cannot remember when Joe Paterno ever wore something other than a tie. Let it go NFL. I doubt you are proud of Bill Belichecks' wardrobe.
22. Got a Nintendo Wii!! Great controls. Great games. Loving it. The reason why I made no picks.
23. Went to the Oklahoma State-Texas Tech game. There were still tickets available. Come on Lubbock! Support your team! It should not take Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M to make you sell out.
24. Bo Schembechler passed away the eve of the Ohio State-Michigan game. I have wondered where his legacy is as far as coaching greats go. I use the famous PTI comparison if there were a Mount Rushmore of college football coaches, where would he be? Or would he be on there? I know Bear Bryant, Knute Rockne, Joe Paterno would be on there. Other candidates include Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne, Darrel Royal, Barry Switzer and Woody Hayes. It is tough.
25. Andre "Dirty" Waters died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the ehad yesterday. As a Cowboy fan, I remember this guy was one of the dirtiest players to play in the NFL when he played with the Eagles. HE was often late on tackles, fined and flagged for it several times and once told reporters that Emmitt SMith was going to have to be taken off on a stretcher after he was finished with him. Some say he was not the mean guy he is portrayed to be, but I can't get that image out of my mind of his late hits, the helmet in the back of Emmitt Smith.
26. Ladainian Tomlinson will be the number 1 pick next year on everybody's fantasy draft.
27. New Enlgand should probably not try to win the home-field advantage this year. 2-3 at home, 5-0 on the road.
28. Did you see that facial Nate Robertson did on Yao Ming?! Taht will be replayed for years to come. Yao knew it to, by his reaction.
29. Emmitt Smith wins Dancing with the Stars. Mario Lopez needs to learn how to win with grace, instead of the facial expressions made by him and his partner during the announcement.
30. Have a friend who is a disgruntled Detroit Lions fan. He claims he is going through a divorce with them, tired of the losing ways. After this weekend, don't blame him. They lost to Arizona. Arizona. Arizona. And now old bust quarterback Joey Harrington is coming to town on Thanksgiving to put a beat down on the team that gave up on him. Divorce is probably needed but, if you are a true fan, you are there through the bad times and the good times.
31. Nick Saban should be told to do his best coaching during the first half of the season and not just the second half.
32. Tom Izzo to coach the Michigan State Football team? I hope this is a joke because the guy who suggested this should be fired or removed from his position for even thinking about this. So let me get this straight, Steve MAriucci is not qualified enough to interview but Izzo is? No knock against Izzo, but he coaches basketball not football. So is Bob Knight going to coach the Red Raider football team or MAck Brown the Longhorn basketball team next?
Closing the vault now. My time is up, Happy Thanksgiving!
# posted by ttheman @ 1:12 PM 
