The ball ricochets off of two or three players before finding the hands of Kevin Walter.
Category: External Sports (Page 69 of 821)
Every Sunday evening throughout the 2011 NFL season I’ll compile quick-hit reactions from the day that was in football. I vow to always overreact, side with sensationalism over rationalism, and draw conclusions based on small sample sizes instead of cold, hard facts. It’s the only way I know how to write…
DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING…
– Raise your hand if you had the Bills sitting atop the AFC East standings alone after Week 3. I can hear someone right now: “Actually, I did call the Bills being 3-0.” LIAR! Nobody had the Bills at 3-0 because that would mean they would have had to beat the Patriots at home in Week 3 and pfff, like that was going to happen. Well, it did happen. Not unlike last Sunday against the Raiders, the Bill spotted the Patriots a 21-0 lead and then proceeded to storm back, intercepting Tom Brady four times as Ryan Fitzpatrick led the comeback of all comebacks. And what a great decision by Chan Gailey at the end. He knew with the score tied 31-31 and the Bills well within field goal range that he could bleed the clock, kick the field goal and leave Brady with no time to respond. Outstanding coaching move. Outstanding game. Outstanding win.
– I definitely thought the Giants would keep things closer than the 9-points that Vegas gave them heading into Philly, but wow. Didn’t see an outright win coming. With most of his receivers out due to various injuries, Eli Manning had one of the better games of his career. You really have to hand it to the Giants, who were playing on a short week and who have been banged up all year. Instead of lying down like many expected, they took the fight to the Eagles’ front doorsteps and then delivered a knockout in the fourth quarter. I don’t care if Michael Vick stays in this game or not: The Eagles weren’t winning it.
– What do you mean Cam Newton didn’t throw for 400 yards? See, total bust. Just like everyone predicted…
Brutal, brutal, brutal – as in, my picks last Sunday were brutal. This column lived up to its name, as all four of my picks were true “fade material.” The Colts and Chiefs were blown out, while the Eagles lost outright and the Redskins failed to cover the 4-point spread against the Cardinals. OUTSTANDING.
Hopefully you have enough time to play these losers today…
Patriots @ Bills, 1:00PM ET
I think the feel-good story that has been the Buffalo Bills will suffer a setback today when the Patriots come to town. Buffalo’s offense has been highly entertaining to this point but this isn’t a very good defense that Tom Brady will have the opportunity to shred today at Ralph Wilson. The Pats are 7-0 against the spread in their last seven trips to Buffalo and 7-2 ATS in their last nine games against the Bills. The road team in his series is also 5-0 against the number in the last five meetings.
THE PICK: PATRIOTS –7
Jets @ Raiders, 4:05PM ET
The Jets just spent two weeks at home and now have to travel cross-country to play an Oakland team that’s better than everyone realizes. I think the Raiders could win this game outright, as Mark Sanchez is due to have one of “those” games where he throws for about 105 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. The Raiders are 8-3 against the spread in their last 11 games as an underdog and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against the AFC.
THE PICK: RAIDERS +3.5
Dan Mullen and Mississippi State escaped tonight.
The Bulldogs defeated Louisiana Tech 26-20 in overtime, avoiding a 1-3 start in a season that started with incredibly high hopes. You can almost forgive it, as they were coming off games against Auburn and LSU, which certainly required more emotional energy than this one would have.
And with the win, Mississippi State still has the chance for a pretty special season, perhaps even 10 wins.
Dan Mullen, who was nearing “hottest coach in America” status, is going to need that. Not to keep his job — he’s remarkably safe — but in order to stay in the Rolodex (ignore the fact those are no longer used … by anyone) of athletic directors at the top schools in the country.
Maybe he wants to stay at Mississippi State. Maybe he really thinks he can win a national title there (he can’t), but there’s no question that for the past two years, he’s had all the leverage in any negotiations he would have entered. He’s in danger of losing that, now.
Losing to LSU is acceptable. There might not be a better team in the country this year. Losing to Auburn on the road isn’t horrible, but it isn’t good. The Tigers are a shell of last year’s national title team, a team that the Bulldogs very nearly beat. Going to overtime against Louisiana Tech? Now you’re screwing up.
Mullen is 16-13 at Mississippi State, a school that struggled mightily before he got there. Maybe it’s not fair to expect a team in the best conference in the country to excel despite it having next to no history of doing so. But the problem with creating expectations is, you have to meet them, especially if your name is going to come up every time a top program has a job opening.
Go ahead, tell me a team that wants to play Alabama right now.
The Crimson Tide destroyed Arkansas 38-14 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, announcing to the nation — if it didn’t know already — that they were once again a serious national title contender.
But it wasn’t just the score, it was the way the Tide dominated every facet of the game to pick up the blowout victory. Trent Richardson ran wild, accumulating 126 yards on 17 carries, and 85 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. A.J. McCarron was pretty near perfect, going 15-of-20 for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
And the defense. Oh, the defense.
Arkansas finished with 226 total yards, almost all of which came through the air. The Razorbacks run game managed just 17 (!) yards on 19 carries. Yes, math majors, that’s less than one yard per carry. The ‘Bama defense/special teams also chipped in offensively with an interception return for a touchdown and a beautiful punt return for a score by Marquis Maze. On the return, Maze cut back across about half of the Arkansas coverage team (that might be a slight exaggeration), and then cut back on the final guy just for the heck of it. It was as if he wanted the Arkansas trainers to have one more set of ankles to tape this week.
Alabama has another test next week against Florida. The Gators have the type of speed on offense that can score on anyone if given room, but something tells me Nick Saban will outwit Charlie Weis and figure out how to not give those guys room. The big matchup, of course, is Nov. 5 at home against LSU. That will very likely be for the SEC West title, which essentially means a trip to the national title game. Both defenses are outstanding, but at this point you’d have to give a major edge to the Tide offensively.
Some other thoughts from today’s daytime games:
– Ohio State has found its quarterback, and I think a lot of people knew it was going to happen. Braxton Miller didn’t have eye-popping passing numbers by any stretch (5-of-13, 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns), but he used his feet to gain 83 more yards. With either quarterback, Ohio State is going to have to go through some growing pains in the passing game, so it makes the most sense to stick with the youngster who adds an extra dimension to the game.
– Oklahoma State did its part to make sure Texas A&M doesn’t leave the Big 12 with a conference title. The Cowboys rallied to beat A&M 30-29 at Kyle Field, in what is likely the last conference meeting between the two schools. The Aggies, who look to be headed to the SEC next season, jumped out to a 20-3 lead before surrendering 27 straight points to the Cowboys. A&M can still win the Big 12, but it will need some help, and a win against No. 1 Oklahoma. Good luck with that.
– Tommy Rees was horrible for most of Notre Dame’s game against Pitt, but the sophomore found a way to come up bit when it mattered, going 8-of-8 on the Irish’s final touchdown drive to give his team a 15-12 win. On the touchdown, Rees fit a pass through a tiny hole to tight end Tyler Eifert. It was the kind of crisp, decisive pass he hadn’t made all game. His ability to bounce back must be what keeps him in games, because Brian Kelly has certainly had a lot longer leash with Rees than he did with Dayne Crist.
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