Forget about your New Year’s resolution for a second and think about what’s really important as we head into 2008: football! Check out Bullz-Eye.com for previews and predictions for all five of the BCS Bowl games, beginning with the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day and ending with the BCS title game on Jan. 7.
SPORTSbyBROOKS.com picked up an intriguing article from the Miami Herald about Bill Parcells and the internal cleansing he’s about to perform on the Dolphins. Apparently one of the reasons why head coach Cam Cameron might be shown the door is because of his penchant for reading blogs.
The Herald details a bizarre concern The Tuna has about Cameron: “Parcells apparently told (Wayne) Huizenga he has heard stories about Cameron spending some of his time monitoring the team’s website to make sure the players are being asked the right questions by club-employed reporters. Cameron also wanted to make sure the players were giving the right answers.
“Parcells told Huizenga he doesn’t want a coach that is worried about blogs or website interviews. He wants a tough-minded, hard-driven football man who is more concerned with football than facade.”
And to think we thought bloggers were only responsible for plague, pestilence and world hunger. You can add another global concern to the list.
“Real” journalist have this notion that the blogging world is ruining sports and the end of SbB’s post is funny and spot on. And one thing is for sure: If Parcells wants Cameron gone, there’s nothing that’s going to save the first year head coach. Blame it on Cameron’s desire to read daily gossip or whatever else, but the fact of the matter is that Parcells wants people that he can control. He’s going to fill that entire front office with “yes men.”
Redskins 27, Cowboys 6
It’s amazing how things work out sometimes in the NFL. Six weeks ago, safety Sean Taylor was shot and killed at his Miami home. Five weeks ago, head coach Joe Gibbs was lambasted for a bad decision that wound up costing the Redskins a win against the Bills. At 5-7, they had small hopes for the postseason and essentially just wanted to get through the rest of the season and recoup. Now 9-7 after rolling to four straight victories, the Skins will play the Seahawks next week in the opening weekend of the playoffs. Gibbs deserves a lot of credit for keeping this team motivated, focused and determined. He reminded the media that a head coach is more than just a record.
Browns 20, 49ers 7
The Browns had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, which they did thanks in large part to Jamal Lewis’ 128 rushing yards. However, the Colts have to beat the Titans Sunday night in order for Cleveland to get into the postseason. Who would have thought that at 10-6, the Browns would have a shot at missing the playoffs? Of course, who would have thought the Browns would be 10-6?
Bears 33, Saints 25
The Saints’ season ended in Chicago last year, and it ended in Chicago this year. Why teams still kick to Devin Hester is beyond me, although giving the Bears field position at the 40-yard line all the time isn’t wise either. Kyle Orton threw for 190 yards on 12 of 27 passing and the 19-yard touchdown pass he threw to Mark Bradley was an absolute bullet. Orton will get the opportunity to earn the Bears’ starting quarterback job next year and just based on how he’s performed the past three weeks, he has to be the frontrunner, too.
Broncos 22, Vikings 19 OT
After rattling off five-straight wins to reach 8-6, the Vikings collapsed the past two weeks. Their loss to the Redskins last week cost the Vikings a chance to control their own playoff destiny and a defeat Sunday in Denver sealed their fate. Surprisingly, the Broncos were able to shred Minnesota’s usually stingy run defense and although they mounted a nice fourth quarter comeback, three turnovers doomed the Vikings. This team certainly has a lot of promise and as long as Tavaris Jackson continues to develop, the Vikes are going to be in contention again next season.
Titans 16, Colts 10
Stop and think about this for a second: Kerry Collins sunk the Browns. Collins guided the Titans to three second-half scoring drives after Vince Young left the game with a quad injury. Nobody should blame Indy for not playing starters the entire game. They’re trying to win the Super Bowl, not help the Browns make the playoffs. I don’t think Tennessee is going very far, but they do have two irreplaceable factors heading into the postseason: a defense and a running game.
The Jazz sent Gordan Giricek and a protected first round pick to Philly for Kyle Korver. Utah is in need of good outside shooting and Korver should be able to fill that role. He can play shooting guard or small forward, and will likely back up Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko at those positions.
The Sixers are rebuilding and the trade rids them of Korver’s contract, which runs three more years at $15.5 million. It looks like the Jazz got the better end of the deal unless Philly is able to turn the first round pick (which is bound to be late in the round) into a starter-caliber player.
Two coaches were relieved of their duties this past week. Scott Skiles of the Chicago Bulls and Jessie Evans of the University of San Francisco. In the NBA, teams change coaches in mid stream all of the time, but in college it is becoming just as common. After starting 4-8 it was announced by the athletic director (Debra Gore-Mann) at USF that Jessie Evans was taking a leave of absence.
Please Ms. Athletic Director, call it what it was. He was forced out!! In his place steps Eddie Sutton. Let me preface my comments by first saying that I like Eddie Sutton and that he has always been good to me. Also, he is one helluva coach. Only two wins away from 800 signifies that he is one of the best in the profession. However, he was forced out at Oklahoma State after getting into an accident while he was intoxicated. I understand that he admitted a drinking problem, but he was, afterall, on his way to meet his team to fly to a game in the middle of the afternoon.
Coach Sutton was given a second chance by his alma mater, Oklahoma State, after he was dismissed from the University of Kentucky for NCAA violations. I am all for forgiveness and second chances, but let’s be realistic for a moment.
Does he really deserve another chance? I don’t think so!
The hypocrisy of college athletics has shown through again. Instead of setting and example for young student-athletes, this athletic director decided to say that the most important thing is winning. If that is so, then why shouldn’t we pay the players just like the NBA does. (That’s a topic for another day.)
The next time a college athletic director stands up and says we are all about education and the welfare of the student athlete. Ask them why their actions don’t say the same thing. Actions have always spoken louder than words.
Oh and by the way I hope Coach Sutton gets to 800 and beyond. Also, that someday athletic directors and presidents tell the unadulterated truth.
It’s a day you’ve been dreading for months: the end of fantasy football season. But, in my latest column, I outline plenty of reasons why it’s actually good news. For starters, you can stop hating Shaun Alexander and Marvin Harrison for ruining your season. Plus, March Madness is right around the corner.
SPORTSbyBROOKS.com (via Deadspin) posted this YouTube clip of Texas’ Converse Judson High School coach Jim Rackley scaring a sideline reporter. I warn you, if you look directly into coach Rackley’s eyes, fear will immediately hit you like a ton of bricks.
I shutter to think what those kids had to go through at halftime.
As we near the end of the non-conferecne season there I would like to take some time to identify some teams who I think are for real and others who did a great job scheduling. Scehduling has become an art. With so much money to be made playing a home game it is easy to see why the going rate for a guarantee game has averaged out to $75,000. You figure it out. It makes more sense to play at home and pocket $100, 000 (after expenses) than it does to go play on the road. The added benefit is a padded record.
The following is a breakdown of the top 6 BCS conferences and their schedules:
Conference Home game Away Game Neutral Courts
Big East 120 31 38
Big 10 86 24 26
Big 12 110 31 32
ACC 109 30 37
SEC 103 29 38
Pac 10 80 30 14
Percentage wise the winners and losers are the Big East (only 16% of their games on the road) and the Pac-10 (24% of their games on the road). Of course, when you lose four home games like Cincinatti did it doesn’t help you down the road.
With so many home games it is no wonder that every team in the ACC, Big 12, SEC and Pac 10 have winning records. Shame on you Cincinnati, Depaul, and Michigan for not protecting your home court better.
Prospects—
North Carolina, Kansas and UCLA have emerged in my book as the teams to beat when it comes to March. The Tarheels have great toughness led by Tyler Hansborough and excellent leadership by Ty Lawson. UCLA has battled injuries early and seems to be getting healthy as the conference season looms. However, the experience of the upperclassmen at Kansas makes them my favorite to cut down the nets. With a senior and junior dominated roster they appeared poised to get the monkey off Bill Self’s back.
Suspects–
Miami and Clemson are off to unbeaten starts, but have no big wins in the bunch. Remember this was was the Clemson team that started off so well last year and then crumbled when they got into conference play. I don’t think the collapse will be as bad this year, but don’t make resevations for San Antonio if you are a Tiger fan.
One loss teams that are making noise are led by Rhode Island. Jim Baron has fashioned this team in his own image. A tough street fighter from Brooklyn they have already chalked up three wins over Big East teams. St. Marys went half way around the world to get one of the best guards in the colledge basketball. Patrick Mills has led the Gaels to a 10-1 start and looked poised to knock off Gonzaga at the top of the West Coast Conference.
Also, hats off to a special father and son. Homer Drew has the Valparaiso Crusaders off to a 10-2 start while playing in a new conference. His son Scott has the Baylor Bears back in contention for a NCAA bid while starting the season off 9-1. After the mess he inherited he has plugged away and brought the program back from the dead.
New York Giant fans are selling their tickets to this Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots to anyone who might want to witness perfection.
Giants fans are hawking their tickets to Patriots fans who want to see quarterback Tom Brady and his teammates go for a 16-0 record in their final regular season game.
“It looks like it’s on pace to be one of our top 25 events for all time,” said Joellen Ferrer, a spokesman for Internet auction site StubHub. “Although it’s meaningless to the Giants, it’s still going to be a great game to watch.”
Tickets on StubHub have gone for as much as $1,600 apiece, Ferrer said.
$1,600? Holy smokes. That’s a lot of T.J. Duckett’s to sit in cold ass Giants Stadium and watch a team go 16-0. Maybe if my favorite team were on the verge of going undefeated I would shell out that much too, but as an outsider that seems like a lot of coin.
What would you pay $1,600 to see live? I might shell out that if my favorite team went to the Super Bowl, although I would hope that included travel and other accommodations. I wonder if Scores’ contributor John Paulsen would pay that much to see Brett Favre’s last game…
Bummed because your team only won three games this season? Well, don’t fret because I have some good news. Teams like the Bucs, Browns and Redskins rebounded from poor 2006 seasons and in my latest column for Bullz-Eye.com, I note that your team could be next, if they follow my four keys to improving a morbid franchise.
With the Chicago Bulls struggling to a 9-16 start, GM John Paxon fired head coach Scott Skiles today.
“This was a difficult decision to make, but one that was necessary at this time,” Bulls general manager John Paxson said in a release. “Scott helped us in many ways during his time with the Bulls; most importantly, he helped this franchise get back to respectability. I am appreciative of his hard work and the imprint that he left on our team.”
Chicago is in a familiar spot with this season’s slow start.
The Bulls dropped their first nine in 2004-05 and were 4-15 before going on a surge that led to 47 wins and their first playoff appearance since the Michael Jordan era. They needed a late surge the next season to make it to the playoffs, winning 12 of their final 14 regular-season games to finish with 41 wins.
I’m a little surprised about this move considering the team’s history of slow starts and Skiles’ general reputation around the league. It seems like Paxon’s moves (and non-moves) have affected the team more than Skiles’ coaching. The team has not gotten what it needs from Ben Wallace and the whole Kobe situation has been one giant distraction. Of course, Skiles is partly responsible for Wallace and how his team handles all of the Kobe talk.
For a while there, it looked like the Bulls were a team on the rise, but it’s not clear what direction they are heading now.
Bengals 19, Browns 14
Derek Anderson has been a fantastic surprise for the Browns this season. But he was brutal today. While he kept the Browns in the game with two touchdown passes in the second half, he also threw four interceptions, two of which led to Cincinnati touchdowns right before the half. Then when his defense gave him an opportunity to win the game by recovering a fumble with under a minute to play, Anderson seemed gun shy to go down field, often settling for check down passes that resulted in time being wasted off the clock. With how great he’s been for the Browns this season, it’s unfair to tear Anderson down after one loss. But it’s unfortunate that the Browns could have clinched a well-deserved playoff spot with a win, and he turned in his worst performance of the season.
Bears 35, Packers 7
While the weather conditions certainly didn’t help, Green Bay’s special teams were absolutely atrocious today. Punter Jon Ryan muffed a punt and had three more blocked, as the Bears played like they were the ones with the number one playoff spot on the line, not Green Bay. The whole Packer team looked lethargic, uninterested and completely affected by the weather – a complete role-reversal to how they’ve played all season. Hopefully for Packer fans, this game was an aberration and not a sign of things to come.
Patriots 28, Dolphins 7
Stop and think about this for a second: the Patriots are one win away from a 16-win season. One season…16 wins. That’s simply amazing. What’s even more amazing is how easy it has looked for New England. Three minutes into every game they’re up 7-0. Five minutes into every game, they’re up 14-0. Before you know it, they’re up 41-3 and Tom Brady has three touchdowns and 350 yards. I’ve never seen a team like this and it’s going to be thrilling to watch them over the next couple of weeks.
Colts 38, Texans 15
Kind of thought we’d the Texans would have played a little better today. After Houston took a 7-0 lead just minutes into the game, the Colts scored 31 unanswered points thanks to another typical Peyton Manning (28 of 35 for 311 yards and three touchdowns) performance. It’s funny that with how great the Patriots have been this year, no one seems to be talking about the Colts. They’ve been banged up all season, yet after an ugly loss to San Diego in Week 10, Indy has rattled off six straight wins. This season is just another testament to how good of a coach Tony Dungy is.
Jaguars 49, Raiders 11
Beware AFC playoff teams: Don’t fall asleep on the Jacksonville Jaguars. They can run the ball (201 yards today), have a solid defense (four turnovers) and a solid quarterback in David Garrard (11 for 18, 199 yards and three totals touchdowns). If anyone thinks they can’t knock off Indianapolis, San Diego or Pittsburgh on the road, then you’re crazy. At 11-4, the Jags would be the third best team in the AFC. Instead, they’re a Wild Card in the AFC. Amazing.
Giants 38, Bills 21
Before I get into the Giants, how great was it to see Kevin Everett at the game today? It was an absolutely fantastic site…It was an ugly start, but the Giants clinched a playoff berth thanks to fantastic rushing performances by Ahmad Bradshaw (151 yards) and Brandon Jacobs (145 yards, 2 touchdowns). Under Tom Coughlin, the Giants have made the playoffs in three of the past four seasons (’05, ’06, ’07). While winning the Super Bowl is the ultimate goal, aren’t coaches supposed to get their teams into the postseason? Granted, it’s tough to keep going to the playoffs and losing in the first round, but this guy deserves more credit than he’s received, especially since he’s changed around his style to become more of a “players coach.”
Seahawks 27, Ravens 6
This was a nice tune up game for the Seahawks and more specifically, Shaun Alexander. Seattle’s going to need Alexander to at least do what he did today which is to say – keep the chains moving. He only carried the ball 13 times, but he rushed for 73 yards and looked healthy for the first time in months. For Baltimore, rookie quarterback Troy Smith looked pretty good in his first start. He wasn’t spectacular, but then again he wasn’t asked to do too much. He finished 16 of 33 for 199 yards and one touchdown, while also running six times for 25 yards. Not a bad day for the former Heisman Trophy winner.
Titans 10, Jets 6
It wasn’t pretty, but with a victory today, the Titans are now back in control of their playoff destiny. Thanks to the Bengals defeating the Browns, Tennessee needs a win next week against the Colts to clinch a playoff berth. If the Titans can get another defensive effort like they did today, they certainly have a shot next week. It wouldn’t hurt if Indy rested some of their starters, either.
Eagles 38, Saints 23
Sorry Philly fans will disagree, but Donovan McNabb still looks like a player to me. He’s aging and injury prone, but if the Eagles are willing to part with him and don’t want a king’s ransom, he’s worth a look to a team like the Ravens or Falcons. McNabb threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns, but more importantly he was mobile and very efficient. Now granted, he did light up a generous New Orleans defense, but still, I think McNabb is still a playmaker in this league.
Lions 25, Chiefs 20
Lion fans must be thinking, “Where the F was this over the past six weeks?” Amazing what your offense can do when you run the football, huh Mike Martz? The run game kind of gives your offense balance and continuity doesn’t it, Martz? Might want to consider that for every game next year…After watching T.J. Duckett roll up 115 rushing yards, I find myself wondering why he didn’t get a multi-year deal in the offseason. He’s only 26, doesn’t have much tread on his tires, and obviously still has plenty left in the tank (sorry for so many car analogies).
49ers 21, Bucs 19
A week ago, the Bucs completely shredded the hapless Falcons 37-3. Today, they can only mount 67 yards against a 49er team playing only because the scheduled makers are forcing them, too. I know I’ve said this before, but I just can’t figure this Buccaneer team out. They can look so good at times and than play uninspired the very next week. While I could easily see them being a sleeper team in the NFC come playoff time, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got bounced in the first round, either.
Cardinals 30, Falcons 27 OT
Give the Falcons credit for showing up today, because last week they didn’t against the Bucs. They didn’t lie down and fought hard, but much like the entire season, a victory just wasn’t in the cards (pardon the pun). This was a nice statement win for Arizona and Ken Whisenhunt. I know it’s been said many times before, the Cards look like they’re on the right track and Whisenhunt has done a nice job instilling toughness in his players.
Bill Simmons of ESPN.com did a fantastic piece about how 60 different quarterbacks started this year in the NFL. 60! He sorted every quarterback that started this year into different categories and I must say, he hit the nail on the head with every single grouping.
This is my favorite category:
JUST COMPETENT ENOUGH TO KILL YOU
Chad Pennington, Joey Harrington, A.J. Feeley, Kerry Collins, Jake Plummer (in absentia)
Comments: These are the “looking great for 3½ quarters until they kill you with a pick at the worst possible time” guys, as personified by Feeley’s “timing pass” in the Pats-Eagles game this season. They’re also the most painful QBs to have on your team because you spend an inordinate amount of time either talking yourself into them or talking yourself out of them.
Anyone who has seen those quarterbacks play (and God willing you haven’t), knows exactly what Simmons is talking about.
The Blue Devils had their way early against Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden. However, some halftime adjustments by Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon proved to be the undoing for Duke. They stormed back from a 15 point deficit to beat the Dukies by one. In doing so they remained unbeaten and handed Duke thier first loss of the season.
Coach Dixon should be proud of the toughness displayed by his team. They battled back time and again until they got to the top of the mountain. Even though they have replaced their nucleus from a year ago, they still appear to be a team to be reckoned with on the national level.
Could this be the year they break into the Final Four?
Miami Coach Charlie Coles has done it again. After knocking off Xavier and Mississippi State they traveled to Champaign and beat Illinois in their own house. The timeless wonder of Coach Coles!!
Another statment that the MAC will get multiple bids this year..
It was one of those nights that you dread as a parent. Your two sons squared off against each other on the court. That made for a tough night for former Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton as his two sons, Scott (the head coach at Oral Roberts) and Sean (the head coach at Oklahoma State) pitted their teams against each other for the first time.
Take off the uniforms and you wouldn’t have known who the Big 12 team was and who the mid major was in this contest. Oral Roberts led from start to finish as they routed the Cowboys by 15. After closing the first half with a 17 point lead ORU held serve in the second half enroute to their first win over Oklahoma State.
It looks to be a long year for the Cowboys as they looked totally overwhelmed by ORU. NO disrespect to them, but one only wonders how OSU hopes to match up against the likes of Texas and Kansas in Big 12 action. If it is any consolation this is the same ORU squad that knocked off Kansas last year and took Texas down to the wire a week ago. Maybe they should be playing in the Big 12.
On the bright side for Eddie Sutton, at least one of his sons was guaranteed a win last night.
Brett Favre is setting records left and right these days, but since he’s played more games than any quarterback in NFL history, how do his per-game numbers stack up to other greats like Dan Marino and Joe Montana? I break down the stats in search of an answer.
I feel bad for anyone who started Willie Parker in their league’s title game. He fractured his right fibula and won’t play again until next season.
Najeh Davenport came in and posted 167 total yards and two scores. Ah, what could have been.
Oh, and the Steelers beat the Rams, 41-24. Ben Roethlisberger had a huge day (261 yards, 3 TD).
Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC) can be an effective approach in fantasy football. While other teams spend middle round draft picks on the Ravens or Bears, an owner going DTBC will wait until the final rounds to grab a mediocre defense with a good matchup in week 1. As the season wears on, they’ll pickup defenses week to week depending on the matchup, because a mediocre defense with a great matchup is as good of a play as a great defense with a mediocre matchup.
Last week, my top three picks were the Bucs, Bengals and Dolphins. Tampa Bay was the defense of the week, holding the Falcons to just three points while scoring two return TD (one interception along with the franchise’s first ever return TD). Starting the Bucs was the difference in a couple of my semifinal playoff games. Meanhwhile, the Bengals laid an egg and the Dolphins played pretty well.
Here are a few defenses that have nice matchups this week and are available in at least 40% of ESPN leagues (in order of strength of play):
TB (@ SF), TEN (vs. NYJ), ARI (vs. ATL), DET (vs. KC) and KC (@ DET).
Good luck!
Even when I don’t have Ron Dayne on my roster, he finds a way to screw with me. Dayne made a surprise start last Thursday and vultured a TD from my sleeper, Darius Walker, who finished with just 13 carries for 66 yards. Walker also caught one pass for two yards, but it wasn’t enough to salvage a very mediocre game. The Walker pick broke a streak of six pretty good sleeper picks.
Let’s see if we can get back on track. This week’s sleeper is…
David Patten, Saints (vs. PHI)
Patten has been boom-or-bust all season. In his five “good” games, he averaged six catches for 99 yards and 0.6 TD. In the other nine games, he averaged 1.6 catches for 22 yards and 0 TD. Needless to say, the guy is a risky play. But with Reggie Bush out (or at least limited), the Saints are forced to utilize Patten more often in their gameplan, and over the last two weeks he has responded by posting 13 catches for 193 yards and two scores. If you’re in need of a sleeper at WR, give Patten a shot.