Now that we have had a few days to let it sit and percolate in our minds, let’s look back to see what we learned from last weekend’s mostly lackluster NFL games.
1. A lot of people are going to be concerned about my Buccaneers, but I’m not. Jeff Garcia wasn’t playing and they still took Atlanta to overtime. They are going to beat San Diego this week, then they will cruise past the Raiders with ease, and they’ll be comfortably in the playoffs. I still believe.
Worst NFL Game of the Weekend – 2-11 Seattle at 2-11 St. Louis is quite likely the worst game of the season, and perhaps of a few seasons. Both teams have all sorts of problems, neither have anything to play for, and I can’t think of a single interesting storyline to make this one worth watching. I’m far from the only one who thinks this way – betting volume on this game is by far the lowest of any all weekend.
1. Go, go Buffalo. I was thrilled to see the Bulls win the MAC championship on Friday night by beating Ball State. I was there for their first game this year, and I have seen them play a couple other times, too. The team has a couple of nice players, but the big lesson here is that coach Turner Gill is really, really good. He has interviewed for Auburn, and he’ll get looks regularly until he gets hired somewhere else. The guy is going to end up at a top program sooner or later, and he is going to do very well once he gets there.
Worst NFL Game of the Week – It could be argued that we get this one out of the way tonight when Oakland visit San Diego. That one could be ugly, but there are, sadly, worse. St. Louis at Arizona should be ugly – the Rams were blown out once already by the Cards, and they were better then than they are now. New England at Seattle could be ugly unless we see a much improved Seattle team suddenly. We won’t. The ultimate choice is clear, though – Cleveland at Tennessee. Ken Dorsey against the most ferocious defense in the league. Good luck with that.
A slightly belated look at what transpired in football action over the weekend, and we could be learned from it:
1. Big 12 QB’s non-throwing hands are fragile – Graham Harrell completely shattered his non-throwing hand early in his game against Baylor, yet was somehow able to overcome it and lead a comeback to avoid embarrassment. Sam Bradford hurt his, too. Both guys should be okay by the time they next take the field, but one thing is clear – being a Heisman candidate in the Big 12 is dangerous. If I was Colt McCoy I would be sleeping with one eye open.
Wow, is this ever a terrible Monday night game. If someone paid me to come up with something nice to say about these teams or this game I would have to give the money back. With one exception – Steve Slaton has had a very good game, and that’s becoming a trend for him. The biggest problem is that we are getting exactly the same game that it looked like we would get. I just wish the league would do something about these terrible Monday night matchups – like cancel them.
Worst NFL Game of the Week – Baltimore at Cincinnati is going to be an ugly blowout. Kansas City at Oakland features two teams playing together that nobody really wants to watch. There is some hope their, though – Oakland is coming off a win, and Kansas City at least has shown offensive potential. It won’t be a good game, but it at least has the potential to be interesting. The clear winner, though, is Miami at St. Louis. Miami is fine, but St. Louis is so indescribably bad that there can’t be one positive thing said about them, or one good reason to watch this one.
1. It sucks to be Texas Tech. With one lousy performance they cost their school a shot at a national championship and probably a Heisman, and instead of a huge bowl in front of a massive national audience they will be stuck in something like the Cotton Bowl that no one really cares about. I don’t feel nearly as bad for them, though, as I do for those, like me, who thought that this team was for real. The Big 12 is now officially a confusing mess.
Worst NFL Game of the Week – Given the way they are playing, Chicago and St. Louis are not destined to make a classic – the Rams are absolutely terrible, and the Bears are in a sudden and dire slump. This should get the Bears back on track, but it won’t be pretty. There is worse, though – Buffalo at Kansas City. The Bills showed the world new and creative ways to throw away a win on Monday night. The Chiefs have a few things going for them – in Tyler Thigpen they may have finally found the QB of the future – but there are so many holes with the team that it’s almost sad. Ugly.
Best NFL Game of the Week – Indianapolis at San Diego should be a great game, but the Chargers have ensured by their play that it won’t be. Carolina at Atlanta is a surprisingly good game with high stakes. The Jets at Tennessee pits two hot teams at the top of their games together. The winner, though, is one that would have been terrible last year. The Pats and the Dolphins meet in a game that could go a long way to determining a wild card spot. Both teams can look very good when they want to, and both obviously have flaws. This game could be awful, but there is a much better chance that it will be totally entertaining.
This is going to be a shorter than usual version of this feature. That’s not because I am feeling lazy. It’s just because we didn’t really learn anything on Saturday. Everyone who was supposed to win did their job. The BCS standings and the top of the polls are still intact and unchanged. Anything we did learn only confirmed things I already suspected – LSU and Alabama are frauds and the SEC isn’t the strongest conference, Miami is on the way back, and so on. All in all, it was the least educational week we have seen for a long time in college football. Next weekend will be much, much more interesting, though.
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