The Playoffs are (Finally) Here

So as NFL fans, we've finally reached our pinnacle. The playoffs. A new season starts tomorrow and we'll soon have a new Super Bowl winner crowned.

It's been a pretty weird and unexpected season. An 11 win team didn't make the playoffs while a team that won just one game last year, did. Detroit made history in the worst possible way. Brett Favre led a minor resurgence in New York, then reminded us why he decided to step away in the first place.

Brett was who we thought he was, which was a very old man

A Hall of Fame quarterback's career is in jeopardy, a coach dropped his pants, old quarterbacks and rookie running backs took center stage and T.O. mouthed off and became a cancer on what should've been a great team.

Well I guess not everything was so unexpected after all....

But now it's time to look at the NFL playoff picture. I predicted who I thought would make the playoffs three weeks ago and hit some homeruns (hell yeah Miami and Philly!) and looked like a fool with some others (I'm looking at you Tampa Bay) but it's time to look into the future again, starting with this weekend's wildcard games.

Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals

This one features a contrast of recent performance. Atlanta has been one of the hottest second half teams, led behind the Offensive Rookie of the Year, Michael Turner and a first-year head coach. Arizona on the other hand has been going in the wrong direction since they clinched a playoff berth and doesn't look like anything resembling a playoff team. The Cards are 6-2 at home though, and you would think they'd step up for their first playoff game since 1998.

Personally, I think the Cards kinda suck. I'm going with the Falcons to continue their shocking turnaround and Matt Ryan to prove he's legit. I thought Ryan wouldn't be good when he first came into the NFL and he's proved me wrong all season; let's see if the kid can do it in the playoffs.

Matt Ryan's been the opposite of suck this season

Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers

How hard were the Colts rooting for the Broncos last weekend? Had Denver won that game, Indy would've had a cupcake first round, Mike Shanahan would still have a job and San Diego would've been labeled the most disappointing team of 2008 (with the Jaguars a very close 2nd). Instead, the Colts have to play the one team they always seem to have trouble with and the Chargers get the chance to redeem themselves after a pretty piss-poor performance during the regular season.

But it's pretty hard to bet against Peyton Manning after how the Colts have played in the second half. I'm picking the Colts in a game that goes down to the wire, with Manning finding a way to win it in the last two minutes.

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins

The last time these two teams played, the Ravens dominated the 'Fins. Since then, though, both these teams have played excellent. I think this one's a lot closer than the first and it'll come down to defense and turnovers.

The Ravens have one of the scariest and opportunistic defenses in the league, while the Dolphins are the best team in turnover differential. I think this is one of the more entertaining games of the playoffs but the Ravens sneak through by forcing Chad Pennington into a costly turnover late in the game that seals it. (And that would mean Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan both advance in the playoffs. I just picked two rookie quarterbacks to advance in the playoffs? Yikes.)

Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings

Let me start by saying that there's no way this should be the final game of wildcard weekend. This one's probably the biggest mismatch on the board. The way the Eagles have been playing, they should win this game easily, but Philly does have the tendency of forgetting to show up in certain games (like the Cincinnati tie, or the god-awful performance against the Redskins in Week 16).

Still, I like the Eagles, and more for their defensive play than anything else. Brian Dawkins is playing like a cagey veteran on a mission, and I really really really don't like Tavaris Jackson in the playoffs. The Vikings surprisingly good home crowd keeps them in the game in the first half, but I think the Birds run away with it in the second and cruise to the next round.

Donovan might not know that there's overtime in the NFL,

but he should know how to beat the Vikings secondary

That's what I see for this weekend. And just for fun, I'll predict all the way to the Super Bowl, without the lengthy explanations.

SECOND ROUND

(1) NY Giants over (6) Philly

(2) Carolina over (5) Atlanta

(1) Tennessee over (6) Baltimore

(2) Pittsburgh over (5) Indianapolis

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

(2) Carolina over (1) NY Giants

(2) Pittsburgh over (1) Tennessee

SUPER BOWL

Pittsburgh 24 Carolina 20

Pictures courtesy of Google Images

The Curious Case of Charlie and Romeo

The date was Feb. 6, 2005. The Patriots had just won their third Super Bowl in four years, this one a 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles (which was more lopsided than the score indicated). The Pats were officially a dynasty.


Head coach Bill Belichick embraced his two coordinators; the architect's of a gritty defense and a potent offense. He was hugging them because he would never break down game film with them again. One would take his advanced and strategic offensive playbook to one of the most celebrated college football programs in the NCAA: Notre Dame. The other would take his hard-nosed defensive philosophy to a Cleveland Browns team that had struggled to string together wins since re-joining the NFL in 1999. Both were going to be first-time head coaches and were expected to be great, just like their mentor. One was Charlie Weiss. The other, was Romeo Crennel.

Hold me Charlie

Both coaches had their fair share of success. Weiss showed immediate results with the Fighting Irish, leading them to a 9-3 record after the team struggled to finish .500 the two seasons prior to him arriving. Notre Dame would lose to USC, their arch rival, on a last-second touchdown in what would be the most lucrative game of Weiss's career. That loss prompted the Notre Dame brass to open up the checkbook and give Weiss an absurd 10-year contract, proving that they were fully confident that Weiss was the man to take them to their first National Championship in nearly two decades.

Crennel struggled in his first two seasons with the Browns, unable to pull them out of the mediocrity that had plagued the franchise for years. But in the 2007 season, the Browns seemingly turned a corner. Behind the strong arm of Derek Anderson and big-play receivers Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, Cleveland shocked the NFL, finished 10-6, just barely missing the playoffs. Crennel was given an extension, and it looked like the Browns would soon be challenging the Steelers for the AFC North division title.

In 2007, Anderson and Edwards were beboppin'
and scattin' and all over the NFL

In both coaches cases, everything fell apart. In Weiss's next season, the Fighting Irish went 10-2, before getting embarrassed by LSU in the Sugar Bowl. After that season, prized quarterback Brady Quinn went to the NFL, and the wheels completely fell off. Weiss went a combined 9-15, and in his four seasons at the helm, now actually has a worst winning percentage (.571) than the two previous coaches that were fired before him (Tyrone Willingham and Bob Davie both had .583 percentages).

The free-fall led to calls for Weiss to be removed; a fairly tall order when you consider how much he was making and how many years he had left on his contract. Weiss was able to (barely) keep his job, but it already looks like Weiss isn't cut out for the college game. He's arrogant, unlikable and generally a dick (sorry Charlie). What's even more troubling is that Weiss has always been praised for his high-octane offense, yet that has been one of Notre Dame's biggest problems. The Fighting Irish finished a pedestrian 74th out of 120 Division 1-A teams in total offense this season.

Crennel on the other hand was riding high coming into this season. Talking heads picked Cleveland to unseat Pittsburgh in the division, and ESPN and the NFL were so confident in the Browns ability to draw viewers, that they scheduled them in five prime-time games this year.

As we all found out, the Browns complete and utterly suck this season. Watching Romeo in the Browns' Monday night game against the Eagles, as he stared out onto the field in sad disbelief in what he was seeing, part of me felt bad for the guy. He's just so completely inept as a head coach that it's surprising he has kept his job this long. He's a terrible clock manager and doesn't have a tough enough demeanor to command the respect of an NFL locker room. He has always been praised for his defensive intelligence, yet the Browns D ranks a pitiful 27th out of 32 teams. At this point, Romeo is just counting down the days until his inevitable firing at the end of the year.

It's probably better for Crennel anyway. After he's fired, he'll probably be hired as a defensive coordinator, which is what he is best suited for. Some guys just aren't cut out to be head coach, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Look at Cam Cameron, who went 1-15 as the head coach for the Dolphins last year. This year he is an offensive coordinator for the Ravens, and getting the most out of a rookie quarterback, no-name running backs and zero game-breaking receivers. He has been the best coordinator this year and his team has a chance to make the playoffs.

Cam never could quite get the mannerisms down of a head coach

Weiss's case is absolutely hilarious to me. He actually tricked Notre Dame into paying him a ridiculous amount of money for no real reason. The fact that he got the huge contract after his team LOST the USC game makes the situation even more perplexing. He should have fun next season as Irish fans are loudly questioning his decisions and voicing for his ouster when Notre Dame is 3-3 at the midpoint of the 2009 season.

I hate to admit this but Belichick might have to get even more credit than he already does for the Pats dynasty. It's one thing that both his coordinators have failed miserably. Add in the fact that they've failed at what they know best (offense for Weiss, defense for Crennel) shows they may have been a little overrated all along. Plus, who needs them when you can just cheat, right? (sorry, I had to have one)

While his pupils struggle, Belichick's Patriots have been one of the most consistently good teams in the NFL. The Pats have won AFC East titles and made it to the playoffs the last three seasons. They had a perfect 18-0 record last year before losing in the Super Bowl, and he has New England in position to make the playoffs again with a quarterback that hadn't even started a football game since high school before this season. Interestingly enough, Belichick hasn't won a Super Bowl since 2005, when both Weiss and Crennel left.

Which begs the question: What could've been if Weiss and Crennel never left? Do the Patriots get a couple more rings with Charlie and Romeo still around? Would the Pats offense be even more statistically insane in 2007 than they were with Weiss running the show? Would Crennel be able to get more out of a Pats defense that has gotten progressively older and slower the past few seasons?

We'll never know. All we'll know is that it's clear that Crennel and Weiss were never cut out to be head coaches. In the NFL, coordinators are always looking to move up. You basically just need to have one really good season and you're the hottest name out there. Sometimes it works wonderfully, but sometimes, it might mean you're in over your head.

Next season there's sure to be plenty of coordinators that think their ready to run the show. I just hope that some take a lesson from Charlie and Romeo.

Because just three years ago, they both were at the pinnacle of their coaching careers. Now? Their both punchlines for a Flavors of Lovelace blog post.

How the mighty have fallen.

Photos courtesy of Google Images

Predicting the NFL Playoffs, Part 2

Yesterday I predicted the NFC playoffs. Today, lets take a look at the AFC.

(Side Note: When I predicted the Eagles to make the playoffs yesterday, I assumed they'd get there by continuing to pound the ball with Westbrook. But after reading this, I'm not as confident about their chances. Andy Reid, in his infinite wisdom, explained that the Birds newfound running philosophy in last week's upset win against the Giants was due to the wind and nothing else. If that means that Reid will go back to putting McNabb in a shotgun on every down and throwing the ball 40+ times a game, all bets are off).

I thought the Eagles had a shot at the playoffs,
but the mad scientist Andy Reid may have other ideas

Back to the predictions....

AFC
(1) Tennessee Titans (13-3)
at Houston (L), Pittsburgh (W), at Indianapolis (L)

(2) Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5)
at Baltimore (L), at Tennessee (L), Cleveland (W)

(3) Miami Dolphins (11-5)
San Francisco (W), at Kansas City (W), at NY Jets (W)

(4) Denver Broncos (8-8)
at Carolina (L), Buffalo (L), at San Diego (L)

(5) Indianapolis Colts (12-4)
Detroit (W), at Jacksonville (W), Tennessee (W)

(6) Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
Pittsburgh (W), at Dallas (L), Jacksonville (W)

LEFT OUT
*New England Patriots (11-5)
at Oakland (W), Arizona (W), at Buffalo (W)
*NY Jets (10-6)
Buffalo (W), at Seattle (W), Miami (L)
*San Diego (7-9)
Kansas City (W), at Tampa Bay (L), Denver (W)

EXPLANATION

• Tennessee has been the most impressive team in the NFL thus far, but they're running out of things to play for. They just clinched the division last week, and I think they come out a little uninspired this week, leading to an upset loss to the upstart Texans. They play Pittsburgh next, which could be an AFC championship preview, which I think they win (in what could be one of the best games of the year). They finish with a meaningless loss to the Colts - where they sit most of starters in the second half - and cruise to the No. 1 seed.

• I can't figure out how Pittsburgh has 10 wins right now. Living in Baltimore, and having to watch an inordinate amount of Steelers games (since they're in the same division as the Ravens), I can tell you that there have been about four games this year that Pittsburgh had no business winning (Cleveland, Baltimore, San Diego and Dallas come to mind). But their defense is downright terrifying and keeps them in every game they play. That being said, I think they lose to Baltimore in a grudge match for the ages, then lose to the Titans before routing the ship and pummeling a poor, defenseless Browns team in the season-finale. The tiebreakers come into place between the Steelers and Bmore. Both teams will finish with the same division record of 5-1, and will have the same record against common opponents. It'll come down to how each team performed against the AFC, where both have ridiculous records. The Steelers record of 10-2 will barely edge out the Ravens' 9-3 and they'll grab the No. 2.

Troy Polamalu and his flowing locks make the Steelers a contender

• Right now the AFC East is completely up for grabs. I like Miami because of two major reasons: They're well coached (Tony Sparano) and don't turn the ball over. Plus, it's finally time to give Chad Pennington his due and (gulp) put him in the MVP discussion. I'm not saying he should win, or even come in the top 3, but his leadership on a team that won just one game last year needs to at least be acknowledged more. I think San Fran's got a shot to upset the 'Fins this week though. That may sound like a homer pick (I'm a Niners fan), but you have to admit, the last two weeks the Niners seem to have the AFC East's number. But with Frank Gore banged up and maybe not even playing, I think the 'Fins survive, then beat Kansas City on the road, setting up a win-and-get-in between them and the Jets in the season finale. That'll set the stage for Pennington's perfect revenge; beating the team that cut him and denying Favre and New York a spot in the playoffs. Hey, stranger things have happened right?
  

• It's the AFC West, so do we really even care? The Broncos lose their next two games which should set up a season-finale, playoff-qualifying game against the Chargers. Unfortunately, San Diego will blow it by losing at Tampa Bay the week before and effectively eliminate themselves from contention. Denver, with nothing to play for, loses to the Chargers to finish .500, but still nabs the fourth seed. They'll go on to get obliterated by whoever they play in the first round while teams like the Patriots and Jets are forced to watch the embarrassment from home.

• The Colts have been rolling since week 8, although they haven't looked terribly impressive in a lot of those wins. Still, they're defense is solid and they have Peyton Manning, so I think they win their next three and get the fifth seed. It helps that they'll play the Titans in the finale when Tennessee will have nothing to play for.

• I absolutely hate to admit it, but Joe Flacco's pretty good (After covering him in the preseason, I thought he'd be terrible). He has been outstanding - especially for a rookie - during the second half of the season. Add in the fact that Baltimore has the most opportunistic defense in the league (with guys like Ed Reed and Ray Lewis playing like its 2003), they're well coached and find ways to come up with a couple big plays every game, and this may be one of the scariest teams to see in the playoffs. I think they win a great game against Pittsburgh this week, followed by a letdown game and loss against Dallas. They pound Jacksonville in the finale leaving them at 11-5 and tied with the Pats. The tiebreak comes down to conference record, where Bmore's 9-3 beats the Pats 7-5 and they grab the last seed.

You do NOT want to see the Ravens' D in the playoffs

So that's what I think the playoffs look like in a few weeks. We've got some teams that were expected to be in this position when the season started and a lot more that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Then again, I'm the same guy who picked the Cowboys to beat the Chargers in the Super Bowl before the season started, so what the hell do I know?

Shawne, you pretty much could've done the "Lights Out"
dance on the Chargers season once you went out

All images courtesy of Google Images

Predicting the NFL Playoffs

When Tom Brady went down in the Patriot's first game of the season, he wasn't the only one that took a brutal, season-derailing hit. Football fans did too.

Whether you like or loathe the Pats (I consider myself in the latter), you have to admit that you had a vested interest in watching a player like Brady perform and a team like the Patriots dominate. You may root against them, but you're still engaged, and sometimes it's more fun to root against a team than to cheer for one.

When Brady got injured - and to a lesser extent, when the Colts struggled mightily out of the gate - it allowed just about every team to have a shot to make the playoffs, and ultimately make a run at the Super Bowl.

And now with three weeks left in the season, we're seeing just how much parity is really in the NFL. As of today, there's a whopping 20 teams that still have a mathematical chance to make the playoffs. So we might as well speculate, right? Here's my predictions for the 2008-09 NFL playoffs.

NFC
(1) NY Giants (13-3)
at Dallas (L), Carolina (W), at Minnesota (W)

(2) Tampa Bay Bucs (11-5)
at Atlanta (L), San Diego (W), Oakland (W)

(3) Arizona Cardinals (10-6)
Minnesota (W), at New England (L), Seattle (W)

(4) Minnesota Vikings (9-7)
at Arizona (L), Atlanta (W), NY Giants (L)

(5) Carolina Panthers (11-5)
Denver (W), at NY Giants (L), at New Orleans (L)

(6) Philadelphia Eagles (10-5-1)
Cleveland (W), at Washington (W), Dallas (W)

LEFT OUT
* Dallas Cowboys (10-6)
NY Giants (W), Baltimore (W), at Philly (L)
* Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
Tampa Bay (W), at Minnesota (L), St. Louis (W)
* New Orleans Saints (9-7)
at Chicago (L), at Detroit (W), Carolina (W)
* Chicago Bears (8-8)
New Orleans (W), Green Bay (L), at Houston (L)
* Washington Redskins (8-8)
at Cincinnati (W), Philadelphia (L), at San Francisco (L)

EXPLANATION

• I think the G-Men lose next week to Dallas, prompting the media shitstorm of stories claiming "Plax's Legal Woes Destroy Giants Season." After a week of questioning the Giants playoff chances, they soundly beat Carolina in the Meadowlands and finish the season with a win against Minnesota (I think even the Giants scrubs in the second half get it done) to grab the No. 1 seed.
  

Take a bow Plax, you've almost single-handedly
ruined the Giants season

• Tampa Bay will lose to Atlanta next week, because no one can seem to beat an NFC South team at their place, and it'll look like they'll be in trouble to just make the wild card. Luckily, their last two games will be against AFC West teams, who they'll pummel, to get to 11-5. Here's where the NFL tiebreakers come in. I think Carolina goes to 11-5 (explanation below) and since Tampa Bay and Carolina have identical records, the first tiebreak is head-to-head, which is tied 1-1. They're both 3-3 in the division and have the same record against common opponents. It comes down to conference records, where Tampa Bay has a slight edge (8-4 to 7-5) giving them the two-seed and the bye.

• The Cardinals, blessed with playing in a cupcake division, should coast to the No. 3 seed. They'll take care of business at home, beating the Vikings and Seattle in the season-finale, while losing to the Pats on the road to finish 10-6.

• The NFC North is pathetic. I still can't figure out why the Packers have decided they have no desire to take a winnable division that's completely up for grabs, but I digress.... Minnesota will lose to the Cardinals next week on the road, setting up a do-or-die game with the Falcons. I'm not sold on the Falcons on the road and I think that Minny's home field gets them the win... barely. They end with what will amount to a meaningless loss to the G-Men and grab the fourth seed (and get pounded in the first round of the playoffs).

Just remember. If Gus Frerotte can succeed in his line of work, so can you.

• Carolina wins next week, gets to 11-3 and will look primed for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Unfortunately for them, they'll run into the Giants, who will be coming off of two straight losses to divisional rivals. The Panthers get stomped on the road and then go into New Orleans, who will love the opportunity to spoil a rival's chances at a first-round bye. They lose, and limp into the playoffs as the fifth seed.

• The NFC East is having some serious problems right now. Plax's distraction, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones calling out his toughest player and Redskins coach Jim Zorn and Clinton Portis are having a cute, little catfight. While all of this is going on, Brian Westbrook has quietly gotten healthy and the Eagles are looking like the contender they were expected to be in the beginning of the season. There is actually precedent for the Birds to go on winning streaks to end the regular season, and because of all this, I see Philly winning their next three games and stealing the sixth seed. They have an easy win next week against the Browns and will follow with a W against a 'Skins team that beat them once this year (revenge game). The season-finale between the Cowboys and Eagles will decide who gets the final seed. I think it's close the entire game before a late Romo mistake punches the Eagles' ticket into the playoffs and leads to the end of the Wade Phillips era in Dallas.

Poor Wade

FOR TOMORROW: AFC PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS, WK. 15 PICKS AND UPDATED POWER POLL

All Photos courtesy of Google Images

Gripes With College Football

There's a lot to love about college football. There's the excitement and emotion. There's the enormous stadiums, electric clouds and getting to watch kids who'll soon be playing on Sundays.

Did I mention the hot college girls?

But every year, there are things about college football that are so utterly stupid that it makes your head hurt. It's bad enough having the enjoyment of my Saturdays dictated by whether Penn State wins or loses. Add in the fact that the people that control college football care so much more about money than anything else, that it really hurts the game.

So with the season almost complete, and the inevitable BCS clusterfuck soon upon us, lets take a look at some of the things I hate about college football.


The BCS Continues to Ruin Our Sporting Lives
We might as well start with the hot topic in college football right now; Oklahoma playing in the Big 12 title game, giving themselves the in-road to the National Championship game. There are three one-loss teams in the Big 12: Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech. The Sooners destroyed Texas Tech at home, Texas Tech beat Texas on a last-second touchdown at home and Texas beat Oklahoma by 10 on a netural field.

Since the Red Raiders were embarrased in every sense of the word by the Sooners, they've pretty much eliminated themselves from the discussion. The argument for Oklahoma? They've been the second half's most explosive team and destroyed Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in consecutive weeks. Texas lost to Texas Tech and only beat the Cowboys by four points.

Quite frankly, that argument's garbage.

Texas beat Oklahoma on a neutral field. That's it; end of argument. Since there's no playoff in place, head-to-head matchups have to count more than anything. A last-second defeat in Lubbock, in what was the final game of a brutal four-game stretch for the Longhorns will probably cost them a chance at the title, while Oklahoma gets to leap-frog a team they lost to.

So yeah, the BCS kinda sucks.

(And one more thing. Why in God's name is the BCS ranking even one of the tiebreakers? How did such a terrible idea ever get accepted? I feel like if there was a meeting of Big 12 officials, and they were trying to figure out all the tiebreakers and someone said, "Hey, if it gets to the fifth tiebreaker, why don't we just let the BCS figure out?" than that person would immediately be booed, shunned and ridiculed to the point where he would have to leave the room in shame. But that's just me....)


Feel Free To Soil Yourself, It's Only Your Biggest Game of the Year
Before Saturday, there was a very realistic possibility that Penn State would have to play Oregon State in the Rose Bowl. The Beavers only had one loss in the Pac-10, and after beating USC, owned the tiebreak. They just had to win their final game - an intense rivalry game against Oregon at home - to earn a trip to Pasadena. Since Penn State played and beat Oregon State convincingly earlier this season, the scenario of playing them again sucked. I was legitimately terrified but my roommate thought that the Beavers would lose. The rationale? Every team seems to find a way to lose their biggest game of the year.

And the Beavers delivered. Big. They lost 65-38.

Every time a team controls its own destiny with an opportunity to achieve great things, they find ways to crap the bed. When Penn State was in position to get to the National Championship, they lost 24-23 at Iowa. When Texas Tech had their chance, they forget to show up against Oklahoma. Texas couldn't hold on in Lubbock. Two weeks ago Maryland could've gotten to the ACC championship by winning out, then emphatically lost to Florida State at home. Even dating back to last year, West Virginia just needed a win over a lowly Pittsburgh team at home to get to the title game, and still lost.

And after Saturday, you can probably add #1 Alabama to that list.

Enjoy it while you can 'Bama. You're day of reckoning comes Saturday.

Good Ole' Boys Run College Football
Sylvester Croom, the first black head football coach in the SEC, resigned from Mississippi State over the weekend. Mississippi State is 4-8 and just lost to rival Mississippi 45-0. It was probably time for Croom to go.

But with Croom stepping down, there are currently three black head coaches out of a possible 119 in Division 1-A football. That's ridiculous.

Fifty-four percent of student athletes and 33% of college football assistants are minorities. Of that 33%, only 13% are African-American offensive and defensive coordinators, so it's clear that there's not a terribly large pool of candidates to choose from.

But it's hard to believe that there aren't more than three qualified black coaches to lead college football teams. Part of the problem may be that alot of a school's rich, (white) alumni, that cut big checks to their alma mater's athletic programs, aren't as receptive to hiring a black coach as the school's athletic department is. Some argue that college football should institute the equivalent of NFL's "Rooney Rule," which would make it a mandatory requirement for teams to interview at least one minority candidate for every head coaching position.

That seems like a drastic change, but three out of 119? It might not be such a bad idea.


The Media's Love For Scoring and Disdain for Rational Thinking
I'm not going to argue that the Big Ten's a good conference this year. It's probably the third best conference in college football; well behind the Big 12 (the best conference in football) and the SEC (although this one's closer than you may think).

But the way the media fellates the Big 12 because of their explosive offense, yet discredits Big Ten wins because the scores aren't in the 50's is absurd. Have you ever watched a Big 12 game? They don't play defense. They don't try to play defense. They could care less if the other team scores, as long as they do it quickly so their offense can get back on the field. They don't even bother kicking field goals, because teams know that you'll need touchdowns to win.

Hey, I love points too. It's awesome seeing Michael Crabtree burn a hapless defender down the sideline for a long touchdown. Watching shootouts are exciting.

But just because a team wins 45-40 doesn't mean it's far superior to a team that wins 17-10. Put one of those fast Texas teams in 25 degree weather and snow (a common temperature for a November Big Ten game) against a real defense and it's a lot harder to break 40.

Which brings me to my next gripe....


I Don't Know if You Noticed, But the SEC Kinda Sucks
We have the media and some fans trumpeting how the SEC has so much speed. They get quick Southern burners that can fly all over the field.

The SEC has two elite teams and not much else. Traditional powers like Auburn, LSU and Tennessee are terrible. Georgia has collapsed in every big game they've played this year (including an indefensible loss to an ACC team in Georgia Tech last week). It's so bad that Ole Miss is friggin ranked right now.

I believe Florida's the best team in the country. I think Alabama is a bit overrated. Their best wins are over Clemson (sucks), Georgia (talked about them) and LSU (not what they used to be), but I give them credit for winning all the games they were supposed to. Both those teams are worthy National Championship participants.

But the rest of the Conference is a disgrace. If anyone tells you otherwise, you have permission to punch them in the face. (Just tell the person you hit that I told you you could do it. I'm sure they'll understand).

What Happens When You Match Senility with Arrogant Smugness? ESPN's College Football Show!

Can we all just agree that Lou Holtz and Mark May are the worst sports analysts out there right now? Every weekend ESPN feels the need to shove these two down our throats, in what can only be a weekly test of our sanity. May is the most arrogant D-bag on television and Holtz is like the old, ornery relative that spews angry nonsense at family gatherings that everyone tries to ignore. And someone actually thought that putting these two together was a GOOD idea?

Well, at least with them, you can count on the occasional confusing, uneducated, angry rant...

Playoffs?!?!? You Kiddin' Me?!?!?
There has been so much said, discussed and debated about this subject, that it's not even worth devoting a ton of space to talking about it. Simply put, there needs to be a playoff. College football is in no rush to change the current system and could care less if we don't like it. End of story.

But if our President-elect can use valuable airtime to pine for a playoff, than NCAA officials can take time away from counting and stacking their money and find a way to make it happen. Just sayin'.

I'll see you in Hell Bowl Championship Series

All Photos Courtesy of Google Images