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      TCU jumps to No. 4 in the BCS standings

      November 9, 2009 /

      The TCU Horned Frogs have leapt into the top 5 in the BCS standings according to ESPN.com.

      TCU took over fourth place in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday behind Florida, Alabama and Texas. It’s the highest BCS ranking ever for a team from a conference without an automatic bid to the big-money bowl games. No potential BCS buster had ever done better than sixth in the BCS standings.

      Florida is first for the fourth straight week, and Alabama and Texas switched spots for the second week in a row.

      The Gators and Crimson Tide have clinched their respective divisions in the Southeastern Conference and will meet Dec. 5 in the league championship game. One of them is all but guaranteed a spot in the BCS title game on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., if they can get through the next month without a loss.

      The same goes for Texas, which has three regular-season games and possibly the Big 12 championship remaining.

      The other undefeated teams — TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State — need the top three to stumble to have any shot of reaching the title game.

      Some complain about TCU’s schedule, but at least they crush their opponents on a weekly basis. Clemson and Air Force are the only two teams that have given the Frogs a game this season and TCU played both of those contests on the road. And the fact that they’re willing to play non-conference foes like Clemson and Virginia should count for something.

      The Frogs have one of the fastest, most aggressive defenses in the nation and I’d love to see what they could do in a BCS bowl. Of course, they have to get by Utah first, whom they play next Saturday.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

      Browns to contact Holmgren?

      November 9, 2009 /

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      According to a report by ESPN.com, the Cleveland owner Randy Lerner will contact former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren to run the Browns.

      Holmgren is itching to return to football and the opportunity he would have in Cleveland would be an attractive one. Lerner is looking for someone to perform for the Browns the same role that vice president of football operations Bill Parcells performs for the Dolphins. The job, for the time being, is Holmgren’s to lose.

      If Holmgren were to take it — and there are some people who think he still would prefer to coach — he would be returning to the Midwest, where he built his reputation as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

      Holmgren is one of at least four names on Lerner’s wish list, though he is considered the top target. The others are former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay and former Packers general manager Ron Wolf.

      Holmgren’s track record speaks for itself. He’s coached three different Super Bowl teams and built the Seahawks into a consistent division winner and playoff contender. He knows how to build a team from the ground up, which is exactly what the Browns need right now.

      And if you’re Lerner, why wouldn’t you allow Holmgren to coach if that was the only stipulation in luring him to Cleveland? Eric Mangini has been a disaster to this point and there is little to no hope on the horizon. Lerner should have no qualms about firing Mangini and replacing him with someone with a resume like Holmgren’s.

      If Lerner can’t get Holmgren, either Accorsi, McKay or Wolf would be solid choices, although it might be tough to get Wolf, who has had opportunities to return as a general manager and has declined them.

      NFL

      Cowboys make statement in NFC East – are the Giants done?

      November 9, 2009 /

      With their 20-16 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys made a huge statement in the NFC East.

      After squeaking by a bad Kansas City team in Week 5, Dallas went into its bye week on a mission. They emerged in Week 7 and took it to a good Falcons team at home, beating Atlanta 37-21. They took care of business at home the next week by beating Seattle 38-17 and then proved they could win on the road in a hostile environment last night.

      There’s a lot of football left to be played, but the Cowboys are finally playing with some consistency under Wade Phillips. Granted, maybe nothing has changed and Dallas will go on to lose five of their next eight games and miss the playoffs. But at least for the moment, the Cowboys are playing as good as any team in the league right now.

      All is certainly not lost for the Eagles following this loss, but this was a disappointing defeat after routing the Giants 40-17 last Sunday. They couldn’t sustain drives and Donovan McNabb threw two costly interceptions. With teams like the Chargers, Falcons, Giants, Broncos and Cowboys left on their schedule, the Eagles certainly have their work cut out for them in the second half.

      Speaking of the Giants, with they have now lost four in a row after the Chargers came from behind in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to beat New York 21-20 on Sunday. Eli Manning threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns, but the Giants twice settled for field goals in the second half and it came back to haunt them.

      Even after losing four straight, I don’t think anyone is ready to completely write off the G-Men, but what is this team’s identity is at it stumbles into its bye? The Giants have been a team that lives and dies by rushing the quarterback it’s apparent that this isn’t the same pass-rushing team that it was earlier in the year. Of course, they did rack up wins against the Redskins, Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders, so that built some false hope.

      Tom Coughlin and his coaching staff has a lot to work on heading into the bye. We’ll see if the Giants can emerge from their off week ready to go, because they’ll face the Falcons, Broncos, Cowboys and Eagles in succession starting in Week 11. That’s not exactly the kind of schedule a team wants to deal with after dropping four straight.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Fantasy Fallout, Week 9: QBs

      November 9, 2009 /

      – Kurt Warner (261 yards, 5 TD) bounced back in a big way against a struggling Bears pass defense.

      – In that JAX/KC matchup, David Garrard (264 yards, TD) and Matt Cassel (262 yards, 2 TD) both predictably had nice fantasy days.

      – Josh Freeman (205 yards, 3 TD) had a productive game in his first start.

      – Aaron Rodgers (266 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT) threw three picks, but had two pass TD and a rush TD for a nice fantasy line.

      – It was a relatively quiet game for Drew Brees (330 yards, TD, INT), who had a rough first half before a pretty big second half.

      – Vince Young (172 yards, rush TD) wasn’t spectacular, but he was solid and had a nice TD run.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Fantasy Fallout, Week 9: RBs

      November 9, 2009 /

      – Clinton Portis (4 carries, 4 yards) left the game with a concussion. Ladell Betts (16 touches, 93 yards, TD) got most of the touches, but Rock Cartwright (7 carries, 16 yards) was also involved.

      – Ray Rice (12 carries, 48 yards, TD) scored in the ground game, but did a ton of damage (8-87) through the air. He is on pace for 92 catches.

      – Michael Turner (18 carries, 166 yards, 2 TD) now has 10 TD on the year. He has ran very well over the last few weeks.

      – Tim Hightower (16 touches, 88 yards) and Chris Wells (13 carries, 72 yards) evenly split the work in the Arizona backfield.

      – Matt Forte (5 carries, 33 yards) didn’t a lot of carries in the running game, but went for 6-74 in the passing game.

      – Cedric Benson (34 carries, 117 yards, TD) grinded out a nice game against a pretty stout Ravens rush defense. He’s an every-week start.

      – Joesph Addai (19 touches, 112 yards, 2 TD) continues to be a very good start with Donald Brown sidelined.

      – Ryan Moats (19 touches, 53 yards, TD) got the start, but Steve Slaton (9 touches, 29 yards, TD) was involved. Moats did fumble around the goal line.

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      Fantasy Football, NFL

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