Wild Results In the NFL Continue To Pour In: Opinions And Analysis

         

This is starting to seem like one of the most fun NFL seasons to watch ever. Every week so far, there has been at least 2 or 3 huge upsets to rock the sports world.

This was one of those Sundays.

Let's start with the biggest one: The St. Louis Rams ripping the Houston Texans to shreds in Houston. First, I need to state a very important point. This was not at all completely Matt Schaub's fault. If anything, Schaub had a very decent bouceback game after the debacle in San Francisco last Sunday night, with no interceptions. Sadly, we did not get a complete look at Matt, as he was injured, and replaced by the helplessly clumsy former North Carolina Tar Heel TJ Yates. I must say, the Texans fans should feel ashamed of themselves for clapping when Schaub went down with the injury. It was quite disgusting, in my opinion, and they have to realize that since he is their best option at quarterback, they need to continue to support him through thick or thin. The Texans seem to be quickly headed for the caboose of the Playoff Contender train. On the other hand, the Rams certainly have finally found their main running back, as the former Vanderbilt Commodore star Zac Stacy had a terrific game. Sam Bradford also had great successes, and linebacker Alec Ogletree's name was said often in highlights, including a return for a touchdown off of an interception by TJ Yates. If the Rams continue to keep things together on their defense, they might soon be able to return to playoff contention.

One of the most thrilling games of the afternoon was New Orleans vs. New England. In the blockbuster matchup, Drew Brees and Tom Brady mostly equaled each other in terms of stats. In the first half, it really looked like the Pats were going to roll off a big victory, but the Bayou Angels showed grit and determination. Then the big one: Drew Brees threw a 34 yard touchdown to The Freak- Kenny Stills and his finely spiked hair. Tom Brady proceeded to throw an interception on the next Pats drive, and the New England fans were filing out of the building. But then it happened. The Saints went 3 and out, and gave the ball to Brady again with 1 minute left. Tommy was obviously fired up to find redemption after that interception, and torched the field to pieces. He found Kenbrell Thompkins with 5 seconds left, and the Patriots had completed one of the most exhilarating and stupefying comebacks in a long time in the NFL.

Another really odd one was Cincinnati vs. Buffalo, and the Bills put up a fight that no one thought they could muster. With the loss of starting quarterback EJ Manuel last week due to an injury, Buffalo was scrambling to start a viable QB for the game today. Boy, did they ever find one. Thad Lewis did everything that was expected of him, and more. He threw for 216 yards, 2 TDs, and zero, yes, zip, interceptions. Quite impressive for the 25 year old. Sadly, even after a terrific 4th quarter comeback, the Bills lost in the sudden death overtime after a field goal by Cincy. Lewis announced after the game he was also injured in the game, spraining his foot. Soon after that, it was reported that Buffalo is going to work out free agent Matt Flynn to possibly fill the void again. Buffalo's coaching staff has really done a great job keeping the team in games during these injury filled days, and they should be commended for that.

So, Denver beat Jacksonville by 100, right? As the great Lee Corso would say, 'Not So Fast'. Jacksonville was really fired up, as they were tired of being embarrassed by the media, and put up a reasonably tough fight. Coming into the game, we knew the three players that had to have big games for J-Ville: Star linebacker Paul Poluszny (Poz), quarterback Chad Henne, and field goal kicker Josh Scobee. Poz caught an interception thrown by Peyton Manning, and returned it for a pick-six. Scobee is as accurate as ever. And finally, Chad Henne was, in the first half, outplaying Peyton Manning! Sadly, for the Jags, the upset bid started to fade by the end of the 3rd quarter, and Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno sealed the game with his 2nd rushing TD of the game in the 4th. The Jaguars certainly showed the NFL that there still are many chinks in Denver's armor, though.

What about the Seattle vs. Tennessee game? The result of Seattle winning is explained by one statement: If Jake Locker had not been injured for Tennessee two weeks ago, the Titans would have won this game. Ryan Fitzpatrick was his regular, worthless self, making all of the hard work Nashville's defense put in unimportant. Things do not get much easier for Tennessee next week, as they host the 49ers in Nashville.

A game that particularly intrigued me today was Carolina vs. Minnesota. The always inconsistent Cam Newton had a sensational day today, with 242 yards and 3 touchdowns. Adrian Peterson was really stumped today by the tough Charlotte defense, and Matt Cassel threw 2 critical interceptions. Carolina, even with their losing record, is starting to possibly look like the 2nd best team in the NFC South.

If today didn't thrill you as a football fan, you need to find yourself a brain. What a day.

Day Of Potential Trap Games Blossoms Into A Day Of Upsets In College Football

Well, ladies and gentlemen, today was one of those days that reminds you about how much you love college football.

Everywhere you looked, today, something exhilaratingly shocking was brewing. In my last article, I talked about 4 games that were potential 'trap' games for top teams: Virginia Tech vs. Pitt, Oregon vs. Washington, Stanford vs. Utah, and Missouri vs. Georgia.

 Right off the bat, Missouri was off to the races, and my prediction of a 32-21 Tigers win turned into a 41-26 Tigers win. Georgia was obviously depleted in their offense by injuries, but the Bulldogs horrible defensive display is what cost them the game. Missouri, however, lost their star quarterback James Franklin for maybe the year today, and will have to rely on Maty Mauk the rest of the way.

In my upset special, the Utah Utes upset the Stanford Cardinal in the big SLC, just as I predicted. Utah has been looking for a signature win the Pac 12 for a while, and it finally came to fruition tonight. Quarterback Travis Wilson did all he needed to do, and star receiver Dres Anderson did the rest. Stanford had Washington and Notre Dame end their National Championship aspirations last year, and now Utah this year.

Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh was reasonably close, but Tech's lunchpail defense did the dirty work, and VT got threw with a 19-9 win in Blacksburg. The Hokies' offensive line didn't do quite well, but they had an all-around good day in general. The ACC coastal division will once again come down to VT and Miami.

I expected Washington to shock Oregon, but the Josh Shirley and the Huskies defense had a terrible game, letting Marcus Mariota and Co. torch the city of Seattle. Oregon continues to look like the cream of the crop in the Pac 12.

But none of those topped the excitement of Michigan vs. Pennsylvania State. I personally think it was the best game of the college football year, right there with Marshall vs. Virginia Tech (which lasted 3 overtimes in the pouring down rain). I picked Penn State to win this game. But in regular time. 4 overtimes? Amazing. When Brendan Gibbons missed the field goal for Michigan in the 3rd OT, I thought I was going to lay an egg. Pennsylvania State showed true grit, and won 43-40.

And the one that no one saw coming: Texas mauling Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game. Case McCoy outdueled Blake Bell, and Texas lit the field on fire for a good while during the game. The lesson learned is the Big 12 is so weak, that they will all beat up on each other until the winner of the conference has 3 or 4 losses.

Another odd one was Northwestern getting demolished by Wisconsin. They were obviously still let down by the close loss to Ohio State last week, but the Wildcats were listless, in a very disappointing display. What is proves is Ohio State's schedule continues to get weaker, and their National Championship hopes are quickly fading.

And how about the ones that just barely got away from being upsets? Baylor escaping Dan Sams and K-State, Northern Illinois holding on against the pesky Akron Zips, Texas Tech getting past the underrated Iowa State Cyclones, and of course the #3 Clemson Tigers dodging the fired up Boston College Eagles in Clemson.

It was the best Saturday in a long time, and I hope the upset bug continues to flourish around the country.

Day Of Trap Games: College Football Upsets For Saturday

This week in the glorious game of college football, the are many Top 25 teams that seem to have 'cupcake' competition. Games pitting top 25 squads against teams that already have 1 or 2 key losses seem to overwhelm the day.

But what many seem to not realize, is that this weekend is loaded with 'trap games', which is played before or after a tough or rival opponent. Better teams have a tendency to look past an opponent preparing for the following week's game, or have a letdown after beating a tough or rival opponent. As there are obviously more important games next week, I would bet that a good many of the best teams in football are not fully preparing for their lesser opponents this week. As the old maxim goes, they are counting their chickens before they hatch.

Trap games are what college football junkies, like myself, 'feed' off of. It is exhilarating to watch the top dog go down to the underdog. That is why I have found four Top 25 teams that should be on 'upset' alert for Saturday

Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Virginia Tech Hokies

As a true Hokie fan, I hate to say that they should be on upset watch, but I must state the facts. Tom Savage and his Pitt Panthers are going to give Tech a game on Saturday in Blacksburg. First of all, Virginia Tech's offense has been quite inconsistent recently. One game, quarterback Logan Thomas will throw for 300 yards and no interceptions, and the next for 200, and a couple of turnovers. The Hokies may be 5-1 right now, but they could easily be 3-3 due to the boneheaded mistakes of Thomas, pulling out squeakers vs. Marshall, and East Carolina. Secondly, history seems to be on Pittsburgh's side recently. For whatever reason, Pitt has been a thorn in Virginia Tech’s side the past four meetings, mainly while the two programs were members of the Big East. We all remember how last year, the 0-2 Panthers thwacked the 2-0 Hokies, sending the Hokies on a major downward spiral. This year marks the first time they’ll play as members of the ACC’s Coastal Division, and another Pitt win would put the Panthers squarely in the conversation to win the division with Miami and Virginia Tech. Watch for this game to be an emotional one, and close to the end. I will be watching.

Oregon Ducks vs. Washington Huskies

By looking at the stats, one might think that the Washington Huskies DID score the huge upset in Palo Alto last week to beat the Stanford Cardinal. That, sadly, did not happen, but the kids from Seattle did prove that they certainly are a powerhouse in college football right now. They will now be fired up to take on their dreaded rival, the Oregon Ducks. Seattle is going to be rocking at 4:00 on Saturday to watch their prized duo lead the offense: Quarterback Keith Price and Running Back Bishop Sankey. Those two are torching the Pac 12, and Tony Washington & Co. at Oregon need to be ready to go to war. This game should be a showcase of two offensive juggernauts, and I predict both teams will score above 35. I say Washington pulls out a huge victory, ending Oregon's hopes for a National Championship year.

 Stanford Cardinal vs. Utah Utes

Laugh at me all you want here, but I believe the kids in Salt Lake City will give the 5th ranked Cardinal a really tough matchup, especially if Utes quarterback Travis Wilson has a bounce back game. Wilson threw 6 interceptions last game, the most by any quarterback in the college football season. But here's the catch. Utah almost won that game, against a potential Top 10 team in the UCLA Bruins. The Washington Huskies showed the country last week how many 'glitches' Stanford actually has, and star wide receiver Dres Anderson and the Utes will be looking to take advantage of them in the big SLC. Utah will be fired up to the brim, as they have been looking to pull off a statement win in the Pac 12 for a while now. This will be their biggest opportunity yet.

Missouri Tigers vs. Georgia Bulldogs


Yes, ladies and gentlemen. The Missouri Tigers are coming into Athens undefeated. Some say that they haven't played any tough teams yet, but I will dispute that. In their last game, Mizzou torched Jordan Matthews and his Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville. Yes, you read that right. Mizzou won 51-28 IN NASHVILLE. The Tigers seem to have a duo of stars at both the skill positions; Henry Josey and Russell Hansbrough at running back, and Dorial Green-Beckham and L'Damian Washington at wide receiver. Quarterback James Franklin is having an exceptionally impressive year, with 1407 yards, 13 touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions so far. Georgia, on the other hand, is in a state of semi-panic right now, with injuries piling up daily. In their close win over the Tennessee Volunteers last week, Georgia lost key players for the season, including running back Keith Marshall and wide receiver Justin Scott-Wesley. Star receiver Michael Bennett will be out for a while as well. One can only hope that quarterback Aaron Murray can quickly find a good relationship with some of the lesser receivers. I think Missouri will shock Georgia tomorrow, and actually by a substantial margin: 32-21.

College football is certainly getting more exciting every week, and I hope everyone finds enjoyment out of every game tomorrow.

Who Just Won the Trent Richardson Trade

First of all, let me just say that I don't believe that either team 'won' this trade, yet. But I personally think the Browns might have the slight edge over Indianapolis . Let me start with how this effects the Colts.

Indianapolis gave up a first round draft pick. Next year's draft is going to be one of the deepest in NFL history, I think. All teams in the NFL should be doing all they can to stock up draft picks, not send them away. So in that aspect, this really might be hurting the Colt's long term future. Trent Richardson has potential to be a very good NFL running back, I can not deny that. But in his first 2 years in Cleveland, with an offensive line that specializes in blocking for the run, he really hasn't done anything eye-popping. Am I judging the 22-year-old's first 2 years too quickly? Maybe. He is QUITE young, and maybe I am jumping the gun here. But Richardson so far has given me no reason to believe he will be anything but a fringe top 10 running back for years to come. Indianapolis has now shown they have no trust in their now former starting RB Ahmad Bradshaw. At this point, I don't see Richardson being an immense improvement over Bradshaw. I really believe that Indy made a mistake here. Their biggest concern was not at running back, it was the offensive line, and still is. That defense could use some shoring up as well. This will come back to haunt the Colts, for sure.

What about those pitiful Cleveland Browns. Their organization is once again being called stupid by media members and fans alike. Not necessarily, dear friends. Is there a possibility that there is a sliver of genius in this madness? Yes. Indianapolis's draft pick, that is now Cleveland's, is more than likely going to be high. Next year's quarterback class is loaded. What is Cleveland's biggest current need? Not defense, as they are set in that category for years to come. Offensive line? No, they aren't terrible there either. It is time for a new QB to take the reigns in Northeast Ohio, folks. Brandon Weeden is simply, an atrocious mess for all humanity. Who will this new QB be? There are tons of different options for the Browns with this draft pick. In the short term, the Brownies have Willis McGehee to replace Richardson, and he'll be quite serviceable.

I think the media is overreacting when they say this is a terrible trade. Yes, what I am implying in the article is the Browns, not the Colts, won this thing. It will be very interesting this Sunday to see the debut of Trent Richardson in blue. It will be even more interesting next year when a new QB is starting for the Browns. All we can do now is watch and wait.

Biggest Win Of Season For Baltimore Orioles, and Other News

The Orioles just beat the Red Sox at Fenway. I repeat. The Orioles just beat the Red Sox at Fenway.

Yes folks, the Orioles finally found their clutch gene and made a gigantic step towards getting into the final wild card spot. Texas and Tampa Bay are beating each other up in their current series, giving all teams in the AL Wild Card race behind them a chance to finally catch up. The Royals are at this moment tied 3-3 with the Cleveland Indians. A win would put KC 2.5 games behind in the AL WC race. An Indian win would put them a half a game behind.

 The Toronto Blue Jays might have just nailed the final nail in the New York Yankees coffin this evening, shutting them out to win 2-0.

In the National League, the Washington Nationals had one of their best pitching performances of the year from Tanner Roark. They won 4-0 in a very important win over the Atlanta Braves. The Nats really tried their darndest to see that they get a smile on the faces of the residents of the District of Columbia, after the tragic shootings in the area yesterday morning. Washington is trying to hunt down the Cincinnati Reds for the final NL Wild Card spot, but time is wearing thin. Cincy won tonight over the hapless Houston Astros.

In an interesting piece of news, the San Diego Padres are doing an exceptional job playing spoiler in these final days. They are the sole reason the Nationals are still in the NL East race, as the Pads beat Atlanta multiple times over the weekend. And tonight, they beat my Pittsburgh Pirates....... (sigh). Pittsburgh is trying to win their first NL Central title in decades.

Finally, Roy Halladay had his best start of the season tonight, giving hope Doc's fans that he is righting the ship. He gave up 1 run in 6 innings in a 6-4 Phillies win over a Triple A squad called the Miami Marlins... (Yeah, Jose Fernandez didn't start tonight for them, giving them an automatic loss..)

Goodnight everyone. And the sports world never ceases to turn..................................................

Evening Predictions for September 17th, 2013 in the World Of Sports

Hello everybody! Been awhile, huh! I've completely changed my outlook on this blog. I'm changing it around to make it suit what exactly I want it to be. From now on, every day, I will be giving everyone my prognostications of results from every important game in the sports world that day, whether it be hockey, baseball, football, basketball, NASCAR, golf, or even tennis or UFC. Today is one of those rare September days when the only important games at hand are baseball games. Usually, it would be baseball accompanied by NFL or college football.

Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox:

In a way, you could say that the Orioles urgency to get wins quick is declining, due to the fact that both the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays, both holders of the final AL wild card spots, are falling apart at the seams. 2 weeks ago, I had left the Orioles for dead. I thought that the one big slide had knocked them out of the wild card race for good. It turned out that every team in the AL other than the Boston Red Sox came sliding with them. And speaking of those Red Sox, that's who the O's play tonight. The O's do need to keep on winning, and tonight looks like a matchup that they could stay in all game long. Scott Feldman is the starter for Baltimore tonight, and he has been solid for the past 2 months. If anything, Feldman has been the biggest reason they've stuck in the wild card race. On the other side, Ryan Dempster gets the call, and he has actually been just as solid as Feldman, but only for the past month. We all remember how he plunked Alex Rodriguez, and the ensuing events. But in the games after that, he has been light's out, with his climax coming in his last game, in which he had 7 Ks and 1 earned run. In the end, however, I have Baltimore winning 4-2. Dempster always seems to come back down to earth immediately after an impressive start. With Feldman, you always know what you're going to get. Probably 2 to 3 earned runs. That is all the O's will need tonight.

Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals:

Earlier today, the entire country was rooting for the Nats to get a home win after the horrendous shooting in DC yesterday. They delivered, in walk-off fashion. And tonight might just be their second big win of the day, as they're trying to hunt down the Cincinnati Reds for the final NL Wild Card spot. The young Tanner Roark, who is 6-0 for The District, will be pitted against the mediocre veteran Freddy Garcia for ATL. Yeah, Washington will pound Garcia tonight, winning 8-3 in my humble opinion. The good folks in DC will be watching the scoreboard close to see if the lowly Houston Astros can somehow knock off the Reds, so the Nats can bring the NL Wild Card race to within 3.5 games.

Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays

Just to show how pitiful the Texas Rangers pitching staff still is, Alexi Ogando will be pitching the first 1/3 of the game for them. He's coming out of the bullpen, and Nick Tepesh is 'slotted' to get the next 1/3 of the game. With this odd format that Ron Washington has come up with, the Rays are once again favorites coming into tonight, as they have Jeremy Hellickson on the mound, who has been great his past two games. Yes, the Devil Rays win 6-3 tonight, giving the CLEVELAND INDIANS a shot to take the final AL Wild Card spot, and KANSAS CITY ROYALS a shot to become possibly only 1.5 games back of the spot...

Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals

In what will be the most important game of the evening, I believe, the Injuns, who have been having hot and cold offensive strokes lately, will take on Yordano Ventura........

"Who is Yordano Ventura????????????"

He is the Royals top pitching prospect, and has had a terrific year for his Triple A team in Omaha. He's starting for the injured Danny Duffy. It should be a very interesting debut. For the Indians, Corey Kluber starts, who has been sensational in his past 3 games. Sadly for the Indians, usually after 3 consecutive good starts for Kluber, he has 3 consecutive bad starts. He'll be looking to buck that trend tonight, but as hot as the Royal's offense has been lately, I've got the Roys winning tonight, in a thriller. How about 6-5 Royals.

So after tonight, the Rangers will still be in the playoffs, but just barely. What a thrilling end to the season it will be.

Under-Talked About College Football Games From Past Week

Been awhile since I have blogged, but here I am! We all heard about and watched Clemson beat Georgia, LSU beat Texas Christian, and even North Dakota State shock Kansas State (which by the way, the only two people in the country that predicted that upset were me and good ole Lou Holtz). But there were MANY games that were BURIED in the headlines that deserve at least SOME attention.

Let's see here.

How about the Ramblin Wreck from GEORGIA TECH! 70-zip over the Elon Phoenix. I have a friend that goes to Elon, who is studying to be an archeologist. Yeah, Elon is a nerd school, NOT a football school. But nonetheless, they lost by 70 points. And Georgia Tech is not being talked about as a serious ACC contender. WHY NOT?? Tech had a pretty good year last year, pummeling Lane Kiffen's USC squad in the Sun Bowl. This year should be even better, by a LARGE margin. First of all, Virginia Tech is probably gonna have another bad year. North Carolina is once again overrated, and so probably is Miami. Wake Forest, Maryland, and Pitt are not gonna do diddly once again. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, are probably up there in the top 3 in the entire ACC. Watch for their young QB, Vad Lee, to shock the country. Do NOT underrate this team, and even expect them to shock somebody BIG this year.

Next, the Marshall Thundering Herd CRUSHED Miami of Ohio on Saturday night 52-14. What is so big about a Conference USA team doing this??? Well, because they are simply what I like to call a HUGE BCS buster candidate. They have the best Non-BCS offense in the country, with QB Rakeem Cato and WR Tommy Schuler leading the way. And their defense has improved substantially. Doc Holliday has done an awesome recruiting job there. Finally, their schedule is pretty easy this year, except for a visit to Virginia Tech. BUT as I said earlier, VT is not gonna have a good year. I say Marshall's offense is superior to Tech's. It will be one heck of a matchup to see, for sure. Watch for this team for sure this year.

Another BCS buster candidate, the Bowling Green Falcons showed off their stuff vs. a GOOD Tulsa Golden Hurricane squad. Bowling Green's defense was good last year, as they can close to an upset of the Florida Gators. But the offense was worthless. That has been alleviated. QB Matt Johnson had a fine game, and RB Travis Greene is a fine player. But that defense is just amazing. Look for this team to contend with Northern Illinois and Co. for MAC dominance.

What about the debacle Nebraska put up defensively vs. Wyoming? The utter thriller between Derek Carr's Fresno State Bulldogs and Rutgers?? All I have left to say is I am so happy that College Football is back, I could scream. But I won't scream, because THAT would be weird. More blog posts coming soon.