Five Thoughts about each of Saturday’s games:
Arizona (+7) at New Orleans
1. The total is interesting here. The books set it at a sky high 57.5 – higher than either team had faced all year. Still, because of what Arizona did last week and what New Orleans is capable of doing I was expecting that the public might push it higher still. They haven’t – it’s down as low as 56. That’s more restraint than I typically give the public credit for having.
1. Can someone please explain to me what the NFL offensive player of the year award means. I thought I knew – it seem self-evident – but this year’s voting leaves me totally mystified. Peyton Manning won the MVP award in a landslide because he was far more dominant and effective than any other player. It wasn’t really a debate. I’m pretty sure he’s an offensive player. If he’s the best player in the league then he should, I would think, be one of the best offensive players in the league. Apparently not. Chris Johnson won the award with 38.5 votes, while Manning was third with just 1.5 votes. Johnson won this award overwhelmingly, yet he didn’t get a single vote for MVP. Not one. There’s a logic problem here.
1. The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that Lane Kiffin is the worst hire a major contender has made in, well maybe ever. He’s proven nothing as a coach, he has absolutely no loyalty or staying power, and recruits won’t trust him as far as they can throw him after what he did to Tennessee. Remarkably terrible decision.
Update: Forget about everything I wrote below. Reportedly, Lane Kiffin is leaving Tennessee for USC. Apparently the Trojans are determined to suck. Brutal.
There is precisely one thing that, in my eyes, USC absolutely could not afford to have happen – have the first coach they offer the job to turn it down. That’s just what appears to have happened today, though. Jack Del Rio is reportedly sticking around with the Jacksonville Jaguars for at least another year. He’ was a star linebacker back in the day for USC, and he even won a Rose Bowl MVP, so he has ties to the program even if he doesn’t have college coaching experience. He’s not actually saying that he was offered the job, but the rumors are plentiful enough and strong enough that we can assume he was.
The not entirely surprising news flew around the internet this morning that Kurt Warner could be in his last days as an NFL quarterback. The always mysterious ‘anonymous sources close to the situation’ say that Warner’s next loss could be his last. That makes sense in many way given that he is now 38 years old, and he had a concussion earlier this year. The way he played today, though, it’s pretty clear that he plans to go out the right way. Warner was absolutely brilliant today – about as good as a quarterback can be. He was 29 of 33 for 379 yards and five touchdowns. Brilliant. Warner had a good shot at a sixth touchdown as well at the end of regulation. He marched 60+ yards down the field effortlessly, but stopped on first down with 14 seconds left to give Neil Rackers a shot at an easy winning field goal – one that he uncharacteristically missed. The Green Bay defense had strengthened up and found itself in the second half of the season, but Warner just shredded it all day today. A lot of people made the mistake of counting out Warner and the Cardinals last year. Despite getting burned by that, people overwhelmingly made the same mistake today. I’m still not convinced by any means that they have what it takes to win the NFC two years in a row, but I wouldn’t rule them out. No matter what, every remaining NFC game will be played in a climate controlled building, and that’s just what the Cards need. Their defense was a real problem today, but their offense was more than up to the task of making up for that. The Saints have real defensive woes as well, and seem vulnerable on both sides of the ball. Minnesota and Dallas both play good defense on average, but both can have rough days from time to time. No matter what, the rest of the NFC playoffs are going to be brilliant. That should more than make up for an AFC schedule that is frankly a bit boring in my eyes (boring become it seems almost predetermined, and because it seems hard to imagine exciting games next weekend).
I keep reading all over the internet about how Mark Sanchez was masterful, brilliant, and so on today. He was good, but I’m just not buying all the accolades. What he was was a young quarterback who was masterfully protected by his offensive coordinator. Just look at the stats – he threw only 15 passes. He completed 12 of those 15 passes, but it’s not that hard for a QB to have the time to be that accurate when a team establishes the run as effectively as the Jets did, and runs so relentlessly. The Bengals couldn’t consistently pressure Sanchez without being punished by Shonn Greene. The star here was Brian Scottenheimer, not Mark Sanchez. It’s typical of the Jets that the coordinator had one of his best days in the job in what is quite likely his second last game with the team.
1. Only eight more months until college football season starts. Am I the only one who has started the countdown?
2. I still don’t like Nick Saban at all, but what he has accomplished is truly incredible. In seven years he has two national championships at two schools, and he mixed in a disastrous stint in the NFL in the middle of that.Saban took over a team that was just 7-6 three years ago, and has now had two amazing years in a row. As much as I hate to admit it the guy is solidly the best coach in the country. He also hurts the argument that people use in favor of guys like my beloved program’s Rich Rodriguez – that they need a couple of years to get their systems in place and let their recruits take over the program. Saban didn’t need that time.
BCS National Championship
Alabama (-4) vs. Texas
8:30 pm ET
Ten thoughts and questions on this game – the more I think about it the more confused I get:
1. As a Michigan fan I am haunted by the thought of Texas playing in Pasadena. Two years in a row – 2005 and 2006 – Texas won absolutely epic games in he Rose Bowl. They aren’t playing at home, but they will certainly be feeling confident in this building.
GMAC Bowl
Central Michigan (-3) vs. Troy
7:00 pm ET
I am a big fan of this game. If you have been reading this blog for any time at all then you know that I am very fond of Central Michigan QB DanLeFevour. He’s one of the most exciting and impressive quarterbacks out there, he has set record after record over his four year career, and he deserves far more credit than he has received. This is his last game, and he and his team will be motivated to send him and his explosive offense out on a high note. Unfortunately, Central Michigan has a problem. They have unofficially become Cincinnati’s farm team. Brian Kelly went to Cincinnati from CMU, and now that he has moved on to greener pastures (that’s debatable) the Bearcats have again gone to the same well and hired CMU coach Butch Jones to helm their project. That means that the Chippewas have an interim coaching situation. That worked out okay for Marshall but was a total disaster for Cincinnati.
Orange Bowl
Georgia Tech (-4) vs. Iowa
8:00 pm ET
This game is entirely about just one thing – Iowa’s ability to adjust. Georgia Tech’s offense is truly bizarre. They have never thrown more than 17 passes in a game all year (often fewer), and they run absolutely relentlessly. They don’t just run it up the middle either – they have a million different looks they can throw at a team, and they can do a hundred different things from every formation. Iowa has never seen anything like this because there isn’t much like this, and certainly nothing in the Big Ten. There is lots of running in the Big Ten, but it is far less creative and unique than what Iowa will see here. If the Hawkeyes can handle the offense then they can make this one very interesting. If they can’t, though, then this one will get ugly. The biggest problem that Iowa has is that their offense is lousy, so they aren’t likely going to be able to compete if this one turns into a shootout.
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