College Football.....And the Playoff System

First off....I'll wrap up THE PICKS, etc. following the NFL slate....Just a little essay that was on my mind....

All this talk of a college playoff system got me to thinking....I know this has probably been discussed, and I may be on the limb here, but I don't see a reason for an 8 or 16 team playoff....hear me out....The College Football REGULAR season is the best of ANY sport..... got me? No? Okay then, I'll explain.....What sport has the week-to-week, game-to-game importance of a college football saturday? Where games mean everything to someone, every week....I won't give you the "pageantry" and "tradition" arguments that most would....I'll just say that every game matters more...and I'll be right....In the NFL you can go 10-6 and win the Super Bowl...it's been done....someone can lose SIX games...and be the champs.....College football? 2's the max...and that's historically rare.....like once every 50 years rare.....Yes, the game is more subjective.....but in this age of parity, if you win every game you play....you generally win the national title....only once since the BCS was implemented has a team that ran the table gone without the title....and that was only because there were 2 historically good teams besides them in that same season.....Yes, we all hate the subjectivity....I'm with you on this....but if you make an 8 or 16 team playoff....the regular season diminishes....and listen to me now.....College football LIKES the fact that everyone hates the BCS.... Just think about it....would we be yelling and screaming as much in September and October if we knew the teams we were arguing about were gonna play in the 16 team playoff? Yes, I know the playoff would garner huge ratings (March madness style), but at what expense? We've all seen what has happened to college basketball...the regular season generally means next-to-nothing and ratings and discussion of it reflect that....College football has a niche....great regular season....and I don't see that going somewhere? If you wanna give me the plus-one argument? Meh....what happens if there's one undefeated team at the end of the BCS and they, for some reason, have to go play a 2-loss team in the plus-1 and lose? What does that solve? There is no good solution.....yes, the playoff would crown the "real" champion, but I'm going to continue enjoying the week-to-week excitement of the current system, and as a realist, I'll take it for what it's worth....You may hate it, but it isn't going anywhere because of the reasons stated above......Just one man's opinion....

Comment plz (trying something new here, I feel like Rick Reilly or something)

11/8: Some Thoughts...

With the weekend football preview up, I figured I'd hit some bullets on other stuff

• Tony Parker, first of all, shouldn't be scoring 55 on anyone....but his ankle injury will absolute kill an already depleted Spurs roster....They may not win another game until he gets back when I look at the schedule....and yes, Tim Duncan, is very, very, very good still....
• 2 team records I feel smart about.....Hawks 4-0, Wizards 0-4......and yes, it's way too early for this bullet....and now Josh Smith is out 2-4 weeks with a sprained ankle....right before a 4 game road trip that could easily even the record at 4-4 (I'd honestly be satisfied winning 1 of the 4, not a joke)
• Dwyane Wade is killing it....25, 6 and 8 so far....I saw this coming in the summer, and he looks like the old Dwyane Wade....I still like Miami
• I have no idea what to make of Chicago....so many guards....so many 4's.....I don't even know what they are....but they look good some nights....
• Kevin Love with 20 and 8 last night.....smiles all around
• Under no circumstances should a point guard, much less Devin Harris, attempt 24 FTs in a regulation game.....I didn't see this one....but that seems utterly ridiculous...he ended with 38 and I give him the credit, but yikes
• One random NBA thought....Good luck Redskins....Deangelo Hall? Vintage Daniel Snyder move....they don't even have a pressing need at corner...he just couldn't resist
• Quick, who's the leading rebounder in the NBA? Dwight Howard? Nope.....Kevin Garnett? Nope.....How bout Andris Biedrins.....do you know who that is? Be honest with yourself and if you don't, go look it up
• I watched pretty much the entire Nuggets/Mavs game last night....JR Smith is everywhere....he can look absolutely amazing on the offensive end at times...fluid, with range, athletic as all get out.....then make you scratch your head too....Hey, George Karl....Dahntay Jones? Get out of here....please

Weekend Football Preview!

Welp...self-explanatory.....THE PICKS!
YTD (Entering): 35-32-3

• Kansas +1 over Nebraska....I didn't get this line...still don't...Kansas definitely the better team....Will overcome the home field...
• Alabama -3.5 over LSU....not enough points to lay...if it was -7 I'd pause...but LSU has looked bad recently..
• Washington State +41 over Arizona....taking the plunge....I've ranted and raved about how bad they are....but Arizona shouldn't lay 40+ to a high school team on the road
• Kansas State +27.5 over Missouri....Tooooo many points...say it with me now
• Houston Texans +1 over Baltimore....yes, I know it's Sage the Great at QB...but at home, I like them
• NY Giants +3 over Philly....this was a line that I said "huh?" after....A good sign

Okay....Games to watch....First in the NCAA

• Georgia Tech @ UNC....Best of the Early slate and very important for the ACC title...which looks more like a charity prize than anything at this point....should at least be a close game
• Penn State @ Iowa AND Alabama @ LSU.....2 undefeated title contenders playing at 3:30...both on the road vs. inferior opponents....both could be beaten.....must-see TV IMO
• Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech.....Game of the day by far....Prime-time...I think TT gets through this one....only to fall to Oklahoma....but that's me

NFL....

• Tennessee @ Chicago...Best game at 1:00 for sure....Everyone seems to sleep on Chicago here...and with good reason....hear me out...if Orton plays, I would've almost liked the Bears....but with the famous Gross...Man.....Titans please
• New Orleans @ Atlanta....This looks almost watchable....First of all, I'd be shocked....SHOCKED....if Brees didn't go for 350+ yards in this game....That said, I sort of like Atlanta's chances at home....New Orleans can't stop the run and Michael Turner turns into Walter Payton against bad defenses....
• Indy @ Pittsburgh....if Ben plays, I like Pittsburgh.....if Byron plays, I like Indy.....
• NYG @ Philly...I'm picking the Giants....but this is the game of the week, watch it....

Enjoy everyone

11/6: Here come the Hawks?

At work so gotta make this one short and sweet....

• Gotta talk about the Hawks this morning coming off a shocking (at least to me) ROAD victory over West-contending New Orleans....going to 3-0 isn't huge....it's how they've done it....2 road wins over playoff teams and a solid home comeback win over East likely-playoff team Philly.....And the bench (albeit short in nature) has actually been reasonable....I, for one, am excited to see what goes down here.....
• Is there a reason Chauncey Billups hasn't taken a physical? Seems weird to me...
• LA isn't keeping Manny...stop all this....Scott Boras isn't just gonna have him sign there because he liked it there....He'd have to fire him first....
• I know that none of you care about Ball State....but you should....not necessarily about the undefeated record....but their QB Nate Davis is absolutely for real.....and MAC QB's have a track record....Just saying....

NFL Week 9 Wrap....

Well here we are again....First things first...I'll wrap-up the picks....

YTD (Entering): 32-27-3

• West Virginia -3.......Winner!
• Pitt +5........Winner!
• Washington +46....Loser!
• KC Chiefs +9......Winner!
• Cleveland -1.5....Loser!
• Indy -6.....Loser!
• Oakland +2.5......Gladly a Loser!
• Seattle +6.5....Loser!

Started off hot....baddddd day sunday.....

YTD (Current): 35-32-3.....Pretty much break-even

• My Falcons utterly cruise.....Oakland may have had the worst offensive performance I can ever remember....they had 2 yards at halftime....and Jamarcus Russell isn't good....he'll never be good...there, I said it....
• Buffalo goes down again....Coupled with NE losing and NYJ winning....a cute little 3-way tie in the AFC East...and for the life of me, I have no freaking idea who the best team is here....
• Arizona still looks good....especially on offense....that's for sure....
• The Giants look the best team in the league to me....with apologies to the undefeated Titans who continue to win close ones behind that great defense...if they played today...Give me the giants
• I can't decide what division is worse....NFC West or AFC West.....The pu pu platter of San Francisco, St. Louis and Seattle vs. the pu pu platter of Kansas City, Oakland, and Denver.....advantage AFC West....but Arizona is better than San Diego....I digress
• Game of the week is still to come tomorrow.....so stay tuned

Some college football notes...

Not a full weekend wrap just yet...but just some stuff....the Picks, etc. will come Monday....

• Well, Texas Tech showed the country they are for real...we all saw that...and that Texas Pass D (that I mentioned in the preview) came up small yet again....I was actually impressed by Colt McCoy and Texas in their comeback but their pass D just wouldn't let them win this thing.....Just one thing that I haven't heard anyone mention...I was looking at the Texas Tech 2-deep depth chart...my goodness....They're like...all...seniors...That's a good thing (for this year) last I checked....With the exception of Crabtree, all of their playmakers/leaders are at least upperclassmen if not seniors and that bodes well for their chances....what doesn't bode well is the fact that they still have to get through OK State, Oklahoma, and likely Missouri in the Big 12 title game to go unbeaten....I don't see it...but for now, they should be ranked at least #2 IMO with only Alabama having a comparable resume (sorry Penn State)....
• There is zero...and I mean zero...doubt in my mind that Florida and USC would beat any of the 3 major unbeatens...however, please get away from me with this talk of a 1-loss SEC or Big 12 team getting the national title nod over an undefeated Penn State....it's NEVER going to happen....Penn State would be ranked higher in both human polls...and that's enough to ensure a top 2 spot...so please, stop....
• Speaking of Florida....They looked out-of-this-world good again....not necessarily surprised as Georgia had their hands full all day, and hasn't particularly impressed anyone all year outside of beating up on a vastly over-rated LSU defense....Yes, there was definitely some spotty officiating in the 1st half....but you can't fake 49-10 (and it was 49-3 until a late TD)....
• I had seen exactly ONE hook-and-ladder play actually work in college football....until Purdue ripped my heart out with one yesterday....I can't even talk about it anymore
• I will now say...with conviction, no less....that this year's Washington State team is THE WORST, and I mean it....THE WORST TEAM IN A BCS-CONFERENCE IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL.....Yes, I know, the athletes are better now so they'd beat up on bad teams previous....I'm talking about in comparison to today's teams....they lost by 55+ to STANFORD.....Their closest Pac-10 game was a 28-3 loss to UCLA who was playing without their starting QB and RB....Their combined score against Pac-10 teams is 350-33.....That's an average score of 58-5....Utterly inconceivable to me how they could be this bad....At least they get to play Washington at the end of the year....Maybe they'll lose by less than 30
• I'm sick of Missouri.....their best win was a "neutral" field win over Illinois in which they allowed 42 points to a mediocre offense....they've lost to the 2 ranked teams they've played by a combined 30 points....stop somebody.....and then I'll discuss you further
• The Mountain West is still better than the Big East....just thought you should know
• Team most like to be the "BCS-Buster"....No, it's not Utah (although the Utes are legitimately good and much better than this team).....it's Boise State....it's all scheduling folks....Utah still has to play BYU and a very, very scary TCU team....while Boise gets...Fresno State...at home on the blue turf....I never hear them mentioned....You'll hear it more soon
• I've never seen a conference like the ACC this year....There are about 10 teams in that conference that are 7-5 teams lol....10 of the 12 teams are between 2-3 and 4-2....TEN of the 12....and Duke is 1-3 with wins over Navy and Vandy.....Weirdest thing I've ever seen....11 of the 12 teams are alive....

Okay...enough ranting....Enjoy the NFL Slate...full wrap on that Monday featuring the Picks

Fast Weekend Football Preview....

Sorry for the brevity....been a whirlwind week....

THE PICKS

YTD: 32-27-3

• West Virginia -3 over UConn....not a believer in the Huskies without Lorenzen...
• Pittsburgh +5 over ND.....Pittsburgh coming off a bad loss will be motivated...
• Washington +46 over USC....I expect some small fight from them...will still lose by 35-ish
• Kansas City Chiefs +9 over Tampa....Tampa wins..but not by 10 on the road
• Cleveland -1.5 over Baltimore....Cleveland looks better all the sudden...and Joe Flacco, as always, on the road
• Indy -6 over NE....this one just seems obvious to me....dont know why
• Oakland +2.5 over Atlanta....I hope I'm wrong....
• Seattle +6.5 over Philly....long trip...good home team....

Quickly...Games to watch

• Texas @ Texas Tech...Obviously a big one here....I don't think The Red Raiders win this one...but that Texas Pass D is AWFUL....people won't discuss it...but Harrell goes for 400+ here...
• Florida vs. Georgia in Jacksonville....I think Florida wins this one...too much speed...the revenge factor from last year...they'll be ready...
• Wisconsin @ Michigan State...I have no idea how this is the best early game...but it is...

NFL...

• NYJ @ Buffalo...Actually an important AFC East battle...I'm not a fan of what Brett Favre has looked like lately...and Buffalo is forgotten about....they're still 5-2....I like buffalo
• Green Bay @ Tennessee....Tennessee has to lose sometime...I doubt it's here without a special performance from Aaron Rodgers....
• Dallas @ NYG.....Dallas goes down...and goes down hard again here....paging Tony Romo...
• Philly @ Seattle....Upset of the week....take Seattle....No, I have no reasoning....

Enjoy the slate