For the record, I do not like the BCS. And for the record, I am not a fan of the Bowl Game System that used to exist where conference champions were committed to certain bowl games meaning that top match-ups for bowl games were usually contractually forbidden. Both systems allow me ample opportunity to give you the principal parts of the verb “to stink”: stink, stank, stunk!
However, for all the people who mindlessly rant about the stupidity of the BCS ranking system – admittedly, it is stupid! – and for all the testosterone driven homers who complain that their school gets no respect because it does not have a national reputation, here is the good thing about the BCS. It tries to incorporate strength of schedule in its rankings. It may not do it perfectly, but it tries. Why is that important? Well, folks at the moment there are two undefeated Division 1-A schools – Oklahoma and TCU. Without “strength of schedule” there might actually be some momentum to match these two in a bowl game if they run the table. Here are the TCU opponents to date: Tulane, Navy, Vandy, Arizona, Army, South Florida, UAB and Houston. Still to come are Louisville, Cincy, So. Mississippi and SMU. Would you like to see OU and TCU matched up in a big time bowl game “for all the marbles”? Me neither.
The Washington DC area is as inflamed as it has been since the days when every discussion started and ended with the word “impeachment”. This time, the ranting and raving has to do with the Redskins and what to do about them. There is a “fire Steve Spurrier” movement gaining significant momentum; the Washington Post – aka Redskins' unofficial PR Department – is treading that tenuous middle ground looking to see what way Danny Boy will lean so that they can hop right on the train headed in that direction. One of the Washington Redskins' Fan Websites has some folks calling for Tom Coughlin to come in and take over the team starting today. These fans have already forgotten how this team reacted to Marty Schottenheimer's disciplinarian hand; Tom Coughlin is Marty Schottenheimer all over again – except without the joie de vivre that Schottenheimer lights up every room with. Sheesh!
The problem with the Redskins' team is so obvious to anyone that watches them, that it is painful. This is a fantasy football team. It is built with players that have gaudy stats and big time reputations. The owner and front office keep gushing over those stats and reputations and the players come to believe that those things will win football games. They won't. Here are some problems:
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They have no DT on the roster that can play at the NFL level. To solve that they signed Darrell Russell last week. He was so gassed by the 4th quarter of Sunday's game that a haystack could have played as well as he. But he has a reputation and so he is the answer to the problem there.
The offensive tackles – both of whom are contractually in the $25M range – are good but not nearly as good as they have been made out to be. Chris Samuels has been to the Pro Bowl (reputation!), but this year he is in danger of earning the nickname “Windburn” as everyone and their maternal grandaunt speed rushes around him to clobber poor Patrick Ramsey.
Don't even talk about the two guards and the center. They are putrid. But it's hard to go and sign “fantasy league” guards because there aren't stats to get all giddy about.
The team is significantly worse at RB this year than it was last year. Yesterday, the two guys they had playing tailback had no more ability to pick up a blitzer than Jack Benny had to pick up a check. Oh yeah, they didn't run the ball all that well either.
Bruce Smith can no longer play defensive end. He will go to the Hall of Fame deservedly, but in 2003, he can't play. In fact, as of this date, he can't even play dead in a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western.
LaVarr Arrington lives on his reputation for the monstrous hit. Look at the game film and he will be out of position or missing a fundamental play more often than not.
The players are prima donnas and they didn't like playing for Norv Turner or Marty Schottenheimer or Marvin Lewis (on defense) and the owner listens to their complaints. If they knew as much as they pretend to know, they would not need coaches!
Speaking obliquely of Danny Boy Snyder, it was reported that he “stormed out” of the owners' meeting last week when DC did not get the Super Bowl game for 2008. You can bully the people who work for you and who depend on you for a paycheck – up to a point. But bullying NFL owners is not going to work well. Maybe he can find a way to get back at them for disrespecting him. Maybe he can actually field a team that can beat the starch out of those bad guys. No, that would mean that he would have to get out of the way and actually let someone who knows what they are doing take charge of the team. He can't do that. If this guy were in the gardening business, he'd probably go bankrupt because every six hours he would pull up all the plants in the beds to see how the roots were growing.
Is it possible that the Raiders are the worst team in the NFL at the moment – even worse than the Falcons with or without Deion Sanders as the head coach? They stunk out the joint against the Lions yesterday and actually had to play Rick Mirer at QB. While the Redskins' were signing Darrell Russell after the Raiders cut him last week, the Raiders went out and signed Sean Gilbert. Talk about scouring the waiver wires!! Here is the only interesting thing I can say about Sean Gilbert:
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Anagrams for his name are “A Gerbil Nest” or “Sir, A Bent Leg”.
The Bears have won three games this year but you have to look what they beat to realize that this is not a team on the verge of “making a run at the playoffs”. They have beaten Oakland, San Diego and Detroit; as of today, these three teams have a combined record of 5-19. And the Bears get Detroit again next week, Arizona at the end of the month and Washington in late December. Nonetheless, do not dig out any videos of the “Super Bowl Shuffle”; you won't be needing it.
The Falcons' gambit of benching their entire defensive secondary did not work real well. Going into the game with the Eagles, Donovan McNabb had yet to have a 200-yard game in his passing stats all season long. Well, technically he still doesn't because the Eagles got 312 yards passing against the Falcons yesterday. On opening day, the Falcons chewed up the Cowboys. Now the Falcons are 1-7; the Cowboys are 6-2.
The San Diego Chargers are not a “hot ticket”. A reader who lives in San Diego tells me that the city tries to give away tickets – because the city has to buy them up anyway – and those tickets go unused. Now the Chargers have hired a new sales and marketing guru who comes to them with solid credentials. He used to be the guy who was in charge of selling tickets for the LA Clippers and he actually got those numbers to go up in the past couple of years. If he succeeds here, maybe his next stop will be the Arizona Cardinals or the Florida Marlins?
The NFL Network will begin operation this month doing nothing but pro football 24/7. I read something that said it will do NFL Film presentations for 8 hours a day 5 days a week at the beginning. OK. That accounts for 40 of the 168 hours in a week…
Finally, remember the famous Randy Moss play where he caught a pass and lateralled the ball over his shoulder to Moe Williams who scored a TD? You've seen it about 3,500 times on SportsCenter. Asked about the play, Moss demonstrated that idiomatic English might not be his first language. Said Randy:
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“It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing that happens every so often.”
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