Studs & Scrubs – Week – 14 In The Hunt

SNATCH HIS SOUL OUT HIS SHIRT LET'S TAKE HIM FOR THAT RIDE!

Usually every week I give you the best performances of the past week. However, with the playoff picture getting more unclear with every passing week. I will share my very wrong, and unwarranted opinions of Studs and Scrubs of teams I consider “in the hunt”. AGGGGGGHHHHH Here it goes *Kel voice*

Studs!

1. If you are not an avid football watcher you will have no clue who this guy is, but I would like to present to you T.J. Yates. Taking over for the injured Schaub, Yates along with the Texans defense have earned themselves their first playoff berth. With time winding down in the fourth Yates led the Texans offense down the field for the game winning TD giving them a 1 point lead over the Bengals. For the game Yates was 26-44 for 300 yards and 2 TD. For this moment in time Yates was calm under pressure, and displayed a glimpse of a clutch gene. Congratulations Yates this week you are an NFL Stud!

2. Rob Gronkowski has been one of the best tight ends in football this season. Sunday showed no difference. He went straight beast mode on the Washington Redskins. He had two plays in which he shed tacklers, and dragged a few with him into the endzone. Finishing the game with 6 catches for 160 yards and 2 TD. A TE who averages 26.2 yards a catch is straight beast mode. Gronkowski is becoming Tom Brady’s favorite so, and I for one cannot blame him. The man just cannot be stopped or tackled as we saw on Sunday. Congratulations Rob you are an NFL Stud!

3. The Falcons have been suspect to me all year. Losing games they should have won, and overall just not playing consistent. I mean feed Michael Turner, and let everything else develop through your stout running game. Don’t try make Matty Ice Aaron Rodgers because it will never happen. However, Matt Ryan became Matty Ice on Sunday. Game stats for him were 22/38 for 320 yards and 4 TD. Ryan connected on a 75 yard TD pass to superstar Julio Jones to seal the victory for the Falcons. I am giving the Falcons absolutely no chance in the playoffs if they make it, but Matt Ryan performance on Sunday is exactly what they need to get that wild card spot.

Scrubs!

1. Disclaimer: I am still a little bitter so excuse my tone. First, we have the abysmal Dallas Cowboys secondary. My squad had an opportunity to take a two game lead on the Giants with all roads leading to an NFC East title. With a 12 point lead and 5 minutes left in the game that worthless secondary allowed Eli to score twice in that time. We just needed one big defensive play, and no one made a play. I have been preaching our secondary needs improvement since the 95 SuperBowl. The secondary is just pathetic. All they can do is commit defensive holding penalties and pass interference. For a team who has a shot at the playoffs. Your weakest link playing the way they have been all season will not cut it. Mike Jenkins, Terrence Newman, Alan Ball, Orlando Scandrick, Gerald Sensabaugh, Barry Church, Abram Elam, you are all NFL Scrubs!

2. The New England Patriots defense will be tested in the playoffs. Although they won last week there is extreme cause for concern. They currently have two offensive players who play in the secondary. I thought two way athletes stopped in college. The Pats defense needs all around improvement. Offenses in the AFC are no slouches. In the AFC the Steelers and Ravens offenses will torch the Pats defense, and they have a defense that give Brady some problems. If you are going to give up 250+ yards passing and 120+ yards rushing to the Skins. You will be one and done in the playoffs. All season your defense has been scrubs, but in the playoffs they will need to step up. Can they do it?

3. The Oakland Raaaiiiidddeeerrrsss! The Raiders are still in the hunt, but trailing the Denver Broncos who are on fire as of late. Yes, you played the SuperBowl favorites and MVP Mr. Discount Double Check, but Carson Palmer is awful. Could it be because he is from USC? For the second time this season Carson Palmer threw 4 interceptions, that just cannot be done if you plan on catching Denver. Fans in Oakland are wishing they had Jason Campbell right now. Oakland you played uninspired football. Maybe it was inspired, but you are actually just that horrendous. Anyway its week 15 and if you want to make the playoffs it is time man up! You must find a way to win with that NFL Scrub Carson Palmer.

Weekly NFL Picks: Week 15

Well the end of the season is rapidly approaching which is bitter sweet for a number of reasons. Some are sad knowing that for yet another year their team will not make the post season. And others such as myself are just sad because another season of the greatest game on the planet is nearing another close. However, there is much to be happy about. Because with just 2 more weeks of football to go the excitement of the playoffs is among us! YES! Week 14 was another exciting one and guess who came out victorious picking all 6 games right. *Points to self* This girl! Here is how this week panned out:

Carmen 6/ Dara 5/ Marissa 4/ Lebron 4/ Renard 4/ Richan 4/ Yannick 3

*I must say for the last few weeks us ladies have been dominating the picks. I thought that was gonna stop last week, LBC???

It was also brought to my attention this week that the way the tiebreakers were being calculated (+1 game for winning the tiebreaker) was not what we had all agreed on earlier in the year. Therefore these new standing reflect taking that into account by taking a game away from Lebron, Yannick, and myself because we were the only tiebreaker winners this season thus far. Here are the overall standing as of now:

Carmen- 55

Dara- 54

Marissa 51

Renard- 51

Lebron- 49

Richan- 48

Yannick- 47

Here are my match ups for the week 15 games:

	NE v DEN	NYJ v PHI	CLE v ARI	SEA v CHI	WAS v NYG	BAL v SD
Carmen	NE	NYJ	ARI	SEA	NYG	BAL
Marissa	NE	NYJ	ARI	CHI	NYG	BAL
Dara	NE	NYJ	ARI	CHI	WAS	BAL
Renard	NE	PHI	ARI	SEA	NYG	BAL
Lebron	NE	PHI	ARI	SEA	WAS	BAL
Yannick	NE	PHI	ARI	SEA	WAS	BAL
Richan	NE	PHI	ARI	CHI	NYG	BAL

So next week I will give a rundown of the winners each week for the regular season as well as a refresher of how the playoffs will work to make sure everyone is on the same page. Happy Picking All!

Overreaction Monday: Week 14 Edition

I want to dedicate this edition of Overreaction to the Art of the Comeback.  Not Donald Trump’s book, but the passion, desire, and will to win that was exhibited by 4 teams in the 4th quarter of Sunday’s Game.  The Falcons, Texans, Broncos, and Giants were down going considerably in their games, with the Broncos and Giants pulling their games out in the 4th with just over 3 minutes left to go in the game (Broncos walk on the wild side, starting their comeback with 2 minutes to go).  It takes a certain intestinal fortitude to forget your past mistakes and your opponent’s own swagger during the game (I don’t think the Bears and Cowboys were trying to give the game away), in order to claim victory for your team and to take it.  It must be something of a spiritual experience.

It’s Week 14; it’s hard to say teams are this and that and not call it an overreaction because teams are who we thought they were.  We have had 13 weeks to see every team, so they are not fooling anybody.  So as we enter the last 3 weeks of the season, I’m going to go through the contenders for the playoffs, every single one (and yes the Eagles are still in it).  I’ll break down who to pay attention to and who Redzone should never switch their coverage to.  I’ll do AFC today, NFC on Friday.

AFC

Texans 10-3 (vs CAR, at IND, vs TEN): I’ve said all along this year that I wouldn’t believe in Houston unless they won a big game.  Well when you come back from 16-3 down at half, on the road against a good Bengals squad, with your 3rd string QB and Jacoby Jones as your primary WR, that’s a big win.  I believe. They are AFC South winners. They won’t get a bye because of tiebreakers, even if they win out, but when they play the Jets in the 1st round, I will believe in the Texans (and they will lose because of it smh)

Ravens 10-3 (at SD, vs CLE, at CIN): This team has all the makings of a Super Bowl contender right?  Until you look up and say “oh Joe Flacco is their QB.”  Anything short of the AFC Championship Game will be a problem for this team.

Patriots 10-3 (at DEN, vs MIA, vs BUF): They are going to win the AFC East.  But if you think these guys are winning a playoff game, you didn’t see what the Redskins were doing to them Sunday.  I would not beat on this team next week to beat the Broncos.  They better get the bye to make their 2nd round playoff exit look better.

Broncos 8-5 (vs NE, at BUF, vs KC): I watched that Bears game Sunday.  I think Tebow makes the other team think so much in the 4th because of his previous history.  So the Bears self destructed.  They played prevent defense (no problem with that).  They almost blew the onside kick.  Marion Barber RAN OUT OF BOUNDS (for reasons unknown).  Then he fumbled in OT.  The “Tebowmania” (which is really defense and running game) psyches out its opponents.  That’s why they will win the AFC West.  But the Steelers don’t get psyched out.

Steelers 10-3 (at SF, vs STL, at CLE): This might be the most explosive team of the bunch, if Ben Roethlisberger could actually throw well.  Did you know Roethlisberger has been Tebowing for like 7 years now?  You’ll remember in the first round of the playoffs.  You can interchange the Ravens with the Steelers, even though the Broncos will have a chance with Baltimore (read Ravens note above).

Jets 8-5 (at PHI, vs NYG, at MIA): I hate fraudulent teams, so the Jets draw my ire.  These guys are 6th in the AFC right now so they would get in the playoffs.  The loss of Jim Leonhard hurts their squad.  Mark Sanchez being their QB handicaps it more.  This team is nothing special and if they win a playoff game (yes even over Houston), I will be highly upset.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Titans 7-6 (at IND, vs JAX, at HOU): I picked this team to win the AFC South.  If I had known the Texans 3rd string QB and motley crew of receivers were that good, I would have reconsidered.  Chris Johnson waited to late for fantasy teams and his own teams to do something.  These guys are a year away anyway but their schedule is soft as melted butter.  They can sneak in.

The Best Palmer Play All Day

Bengals 7-6 (at STL, vs ARI, vs BAL): Another “they need one more year team.”  I want this team in the playoffs over the Jets but it won’t happen.  That Leon Hall injured killed their defense.  Watch out for this squad next year.  Or at least Week 17 when they play spoiler.

Raiders 7-6 (vs DET, at KC, vs SD): Remember when the Raiders were going to win the AFC West?  Well at least my man Jason Campbell will be able to win his job back from Carson Palmer next year (13 INT in 7 weeks of play LMBO!!!)

Chargers 6-7 (vs BAL, at DET, at OAK): Looking at the Chargers now, this makes the Jets, Chiefs, and Broncos losses hurt worse right?  Naw, this team is awful, especially on defense.  But at least they can make things interesting over the next 3 weeks.

Kansas City 5-8 (vs GB, vs OAK, at DEN): This team just fired Todd Haley, their head coach.  They are right back in the playoff hunt.  I am so sincere.

I’ll spare my man LBC from talking about the NFC this time around.  I think this guy put him in a bad mood until Friday.

Football Friday: A Decade Later – Willis McGahee Remastered

The 2003 National Championship was the first college football game I really paid attention to (thanks a lot Maryland Terps).  I remember Miami having a stable of NFL players, especially at running back.  Willis McGahee was one of those backs.  A great combination of speed and power,  I remember him being a cinch top-10 pick, maybe even top-5 in the draft that spring going into that Fiesta Bowl.  It’s crazy that Frank Gore started over him going into that 2002 season. Then this happened:

McGahee was bent over backwards, tearing every ligament in his left knee.  Not only was his pro career threatened, there was a chance that he may not walk the same after the injury.  But like any good running back, you have to keep your legs moving when you get contact.  McGahee entered the draft, and the sure top-10 pick was drafted by the Buffalo Bills at 23 in the draft.

After sitting out the entire 2003-04 season because of his injuries, McGahee finally got his shot with the Bills.  He rushed for over 1,000 yards his first two years there, but the Bills stank anyway.  As the team got worse, and McGahee’s health declined in 2006, the BIlls decided to trade him for picks to the Ravens.  At least McGahee would get his shot with a decent team, to show that he was still that excellent back.

In 2007, McGahee made his first Pro Bowl, after he rushed for another 1,000 yards.  It looked like McGahee was back to being a top-5 running back.  In 2008, injuries again took their toll, but like any great back he kept running forward.  I remember his 77-yard run against the Cowboys on the final game at Cowboys Stadium.  He didn’t rush for 1,000 yards, but he had a hell of a playoffs that year.  He rushed for over 150 yards and 2 TDs and led the Ravens to the AFC Championship Game when this happened

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Clark baptized McGahee towards the end of that game.  I can joke about it now because even though McGahee was taken off the field in a stretcher, he did not suffer any serious injuries.  But his heroic play in the playoffs did not translate into a starting job as Ray Rice took over the team the next season.  McGahee just became the guy that stole fantasy touchdowns from Ray Rice from then on with the Ravens (he had 14 TDs in 2009 season).

The Ravens released McGahee this past offseason.  But remember, a good back keeps his legs moving.  He signed a decent contract for a running back his age (4 years, $9.5 mil, $3 mil guaranteed) with the Broncos, to back up Knowshon Moreno.  It looked like his career would fade as the Broncos were headed to irrelevance at 1-4.  But the team has turned it around and now they are in first-place in the AFC West.  People credit their new starting QB, Tim Tebow.  Others, the strong defensive play.  A few credit the coach.  But through it all it has been McGahee who just keeps moving forward with his 886 yards, 4.9 yards per attempt season.  The Broncos voted him a captain this November when Kyle Orton left.  His efforts have not been as heralded as other people, but that locker room knows that it’s the strength of McGahee that has powered the Broncos surge.

McGahee has never gotten the star treatment that he probably would have gotten if he stayed healthy on that January night in 2003.  But through all the injuries and disrespect shown to him by the league, he just kept his legs moving, and at 30 years old, and almost 9 years after the Fiesta Bowl, McGahee is back to being a top-10 back in the league.  Not bad for a guy who wasn’t the starter in Miami in 2002 and in Denver in 2011.  Other thoughts going into this sports weekend.

– Wouldn’t this be a great weekend to have the quarterfinals of an 8-team college football playoffs?  Now we get to wait for the New Mexico Bowl and the Idaho Potato Bowl next week

– The NBA = WWE.  Dan Gilbert = The Kid that gets beat up for Lunch Money. David Stern =

Oy Vey.  Here is the lineup this weekend.  Unless you like patriotism and less than stellar college basketball spend time Saturday with your girl.  Or find you a winter friend to take skiing or something.  It’s not to late.

Saturday, December 10

12-3pm: Cincinnati vs Xavier (CBB on ESPN, 12:30pm), Washington vs Duke (CBB on CBS)

3:30-7pm: Army vs Navy (CBS, 2:30pm), Ohio State vs Kansas (ESPN, 3:15), Kentucky vs Indiana (ESPN, 5:15pm)

Sunday, December 11

1-4pm: New Orleans vs Tennessee, Houston vs Cincinnati, New England vs Washington

4-7pm: Oakland vs Green Bay, Chicago vs Denver, Buffalo vs San Diego

Cuffing Season DVD Collection Vol. 2: 24

Contrary to popular belief us cavers do not only watch ESPN, and its counterparts. Occasionally there comes that one show that is welcome wholeheartedly into our caves. Ladies have no fear these shows actually allow your presence to be with us in our caves! Depending on the situation we may even put our arm around you briefly, and conversation (about the show) is recommended. Although, my fellow mancaver dontbeskerritt believes The Wire is the greatest show Americans have been privileged to. I will be giving my spill on the greatness that is 24.

First of all, it has the greatest concept I have ever seen. It is called 24 because all of the events of the season happen in one day giving each season 24 episodes with each episode lasting 1 hour. So, a season will begin at 7:00 AM and end at 7:00 AM. Hence Jacks famous intro, “These events occur in real time, and My name is Jack Bauer and this is the longest day of my life”. It is an action packed, political government conspiracy show filled with twist and turns. Jack who plays the rogue agent from CTU does whatever he needs to do to prevent terrorist attacks and expose traitors with the government.

Since all college football games are irrelevant now, and there are so many useless bowl games. Take the next few Saturdays to begin watching this action packed drama. 24 is a show even the most girly girly of ladies can find enjoyment.  The writers will make you fall in love with characters, and force you to never want to stop watching. Sort of like the old pringles saying “Once you pop you can’t stop” (I think that’s it). What separates this show apart from others is the writers have no sympathy for any characters regardless of their role. For example, Season five you see 4 main characters dead in the first 10 minutes. In the world of 24 no one is safe.

The 24 games always made the show better. First, take a shot every time Jack says “Damn It”. Jack told the media he knew of this game, and would purposely add extra “Damn Its” during episodes lol. Game number two guess the time. The show is set in real time so on commercial breaks time may read 4:27:12 and return at 4:34:27. Which ever guesser is farther away from start time takes a shot.

The 8 seasons of 24 are not 8 consecutive days, but spread over many years. However all seasons are intertwined. All seasons do connect. 24 is also the only show that I can think of that incorporated a movie, and a video game. 24 Redemption was a movie explaining Jack’s life when he was exiled out of America. 24 the game shows you what happened between Seasons 2 and 3 introducing character, Chase Edmonds. To wrap up watch this video of some of the highlights of 24.

*All 8 seasons are available on Netflix to stream instantly*

Weekly NFL Picks: Week 14

What’s up ManCave readers? Time for our weekly picks! Last week ended with another tiebreaker, this time between Marissa and I. I came out victorious leaving the weekly standing as follows:

Carmen 7/ Marissa 6/ Dara 5/ Yannick 4/ Richan 3/ Lebron 3/ Renard 3

Here are the overall standings as of now:

Carmen- 50

Dara- 49

Marissa- 47

Renard- 47

Lebron- 46

Yannick- 45

Richan- 44

Here are my picks for Week 14:

	KC v NYJ	BUF v SD	CHI v DEN	HOU v CIN	ATL v CAR	NYG v DAL
Carmen	NYJ	SD	DEN	HOU	ATL	NYG
Marissa	KC	SD	DEN	CIN	ATL	NYG
Dara	NYJ	BUF	DEN	HOU	ATL	NYG
Renard	NYJ	SD	DEN	CIN	ATL	DAL
Lebron	NYJ	SD	CHI	HOU	ATL	DAL
Yannick	NYJ	SD	CHI	CIN	CAR	NYG
Richan	NYJ	BUF	DEN	CIN	ATL	NYG

Happy Picking All!

Cuffing Season DVD Collection Vol. 1: The Wire

Well since the NBA realized that it probably wasn’t a good idea to lose a season right after your greatest season in a long time, groupies and ManCavers across the land can breath a sigh of relief.  But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t set up your cuffing season TV viewing sessions, with your girl or winter friend, whatever you call them these days.  Besides, if you continue to ignore your lady friend like you did during the football season, you may see her at a random NBA All-Star Game event with an All-Star winking at her.  Not even Dwyane Wade; Al Horford.

So for our first DVD Title review, let me present a more comprehensive review of The Wire, in my opinion the greatest drama of all time.  This is a police show, set in Baltimore in the early 2000s (you’ll see pagers and pay phones being used prominently at the beginning of the show), so it could feel dated.  But the show’s story is as fresh as ever.

This Ain't Law and Order

While the story is about cops and gangs, The Wire’s scope is more far reaching than that.  It is about crime, why it happens, what are the effects, and what can be done (or not done) about it.  The show has some of the greatest characters you will ever see in your life like Omar, the shotgun carrying, gay black man, Robin Hood of Baltimore.  The crime duo of Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell.  The cops like McNulty, Bunk, Kima Greggs, and Ervin Burrell.  There are supporting characters like Bodie, Herc, Bunny Colvin, and Ziggy that might be better than the main characters of the show.  But the best character of all in the show is the city of Baltimore itself; how different areas of the cities affect other areas of the cities, directly and indirectly, and how the various systems work together in  a vicious cycle to bring about the urban decay we see in too many of today’s inner cities.

So why should you watch this show with your girl?  Well the drama sucks you right in, especially if you grew up with some type of connection to the “hood.”  Even if you didn’t, you will appreciate how the show connects to itself so well, no scene is ever wasted in this show, no matter how insignificant you may think it is at the time.  If you do decide to take a look at this masterpiece of the show, wait until the 4th episode of the show named “Old Cases.”  When you see detectives, McNulty and Bunk go over the scene of a crime based on what you learned about it previously from another individual, all you can say is f**k (if you seen that scene before you know what I mean).  If your girl loves drama about the people in a community, about people she can identify with, she will love watching a show like this.  Besides, just say that Idris Elba is in it and she’ll be hooked.

This show is paced out, but it awards you for being patient.  If you break down the show into 5 parts of a city; the police and how they treat crime (Season 1), the working class and the cause of crime (Season 2), politics and the response to crime (Season 3), schools and how how crime is prevented or not prevented (Season 4), and the media portrayl of crime (Season 5), it makes it that much better when you view it.  It’s a show that you can easily watch over and over again, if only to catch something that you may have missed before.  It’s that good.

The Gang's All Here

And for those of you Uppity people that think it shows black people in a negative light, don’t talk about a show you haven’t watched.  Everything for police work, sentencing guidelines, union workers, local and national politics, and schools are discussed in this program.  And they don’t have to preach it to you. I guarantee you that Season 4 will give you a new opinion on why our youth are lost today.  The first 3 seasons set you up for Season 4 because you get to see where these guys come from.  Besides, the only thing that should be negative is the system.  Good guys are ostracized for trying to do good things; bad guys get away with murder.  Nobody wants to step outside of their duty because that’s how you get in trouble.  The show is a fascinating look at the breakdowns in our cities, which causes the breakdowns in our communities and then our families, down to our individual selves.

So instead of watching a random Timberwolves-Rockets game on your NBA Season Pass, snuggle up with your girl, watch some gangsta TV show, and thank me later for witnessing the best show ever.  If you’ve seen it before, watch it again and pay it forward.  Unless you want Omar to come after you.

Overreaction Monday: Unlucky Week 13 Edition

Check you legs and make sure you’re not injured today after watching the battle of attrition that Week 13 turned into.  Did everybody get hurt on Sunday?  Matt Forte, Andre Johnson (again), hell Kyle Orton got injured on his first play as a Chief!  Remember when the owners had a foolish idea to extend the regular season by 2 games.  Maybe they should do it so I have a chance to try out as a safety or something.  Because guys are dropping like flies out there.  These injuries are also affecting playoff runs.  The Bears would have had a great shot at the first wild-card, but with their ENTIRE offense now on the sidelines, I don’t think this team could be Little Giants, much less a professional team.  This allows the fraudulent Lions, the scrub Falcons, and the inconsistent Giants back into the mix for playoff spots.  Nothing can be done about injuries; I just hope the league doesn’t give us more games for them to occur.  Other thoughts from this Football Weekend:

That Ivy League Education Ain't What It Used to Be

– You have noticed that we talk about the NFC East a lot here at the Mancave.  It’s the division we grew up with, I know I watched the division win 8 Super Bowls in my lifetime (well with a lot of them I was crawling around trying eating carpet lint).  So we have a sort of favoritism to the NFC Beast.  But this year, the NFC East is sorry.  On Sunday, all the teams lost.  Every single one.  The team that may have won the most is the Giants, because they actually looked good in defeat.  The other teams, terrible.  The Eagles and Cowboys lost to NFC West teams that are not the 49ers.  The Cowboys were in Cardinals territory for pretty much the entire game and only scored 13 points.  I’m sure LBC will explain why in the comments.

I don’t know why the NFC East sucks; well I can tell you about the Redskins and Eagles easily.  But know this about the NFC East, the Eagles are 3-1 in the division. 3-1!!!  They only have 4 wins on the season.  That’s your NFC Least this year.  Hopefully the Redskins get a QB in the draft to make the competition just a little bit better.  But it doesn’t get any easier next year when we play the AFC North (best division in football) and NFC South (best division in the NFC).  It’s a long way from the 80s and 90s gentlemen.

– There is nothing that needs to be said about Tim Tebow that SHOULD have been said about Michael Vick in 2002, Vince Young in 2007, Ben Roethlisberger in 2004, and Randall Cunningham/Steve McNair/Doug Flutie/Kordell Stewart in the past.  Tim Tebow is fun to watch.  If you say otherwise, you’re crazy.  His games are dramatic in the 4th, Sunday’s Vikings was great in the 2nd half.  I said the way to stop Tebow was to score 21+, now that’s shot out of the window.  But what leaves a bad taste in my mouth about Tebowmania, is that Tebow isn’t the first QB to have this skill set.

As Stephen A. Smith said on Twitter Sunday, the problem that some people see is that Tebow is getting an opportunity to succeed in the league (and he almost didn’t get that; and who knows how long this opportunity will last) while a lot of the QB’s I named on the list were not given such an opportunity.  Even worse, their skills were not enhanced by the game plan, they were forced to be something they were not.  The Broncos don’t try to make Tebow John Elway, they let him be the best Tim Tebow ever.  Imagine if Vince Young, Kordell Stewart and Doug Flutie had that opportunity.  Imagine Cunningham winning a Super Bowl in Philly if Buddy Ryan focused on a better offensive gameplan back in the day.  So maybe the problem is not the QBs, it’s the coaches that refused to make gameplans that enhance the players that they have, AKA good coaching.

– Can you name me a bowl game that you say “I gotta catch that game.”  Maybe the Sugar Bowl between Michigan-Virginia Tech.  The Ticket City Bowl?  The Idaho Potato Bowl?  The Toilet Bowl that UCLA should be in?  This madness must stop.

– Aaron Rodgers, that boy good.  It must be nice to be a fan of a team that when you wake up on Sunday’s you feel you have a great chance to win the game.  This is a message to a certain team I root for; you better get a QB if you want sentiments to change locally because 19 of 46, 19 OF 46, is not gonna cut it from your starting quarterback.

Rodgers has been Listening to that New Kirk Franklin

Football Friday: One More Toast to the BCS

The BCS Makes Me Feel Like This Too

For regular readers of our ManCave blog, you know that I have a love affair with the BCS; you know the system that is so crappy that it has given us a college football regular season finale that will have no affect on who will be in the BCS Title Game.  This week, with all of the conference title games was designed to give us drama for who will be in the title game.  But Alabama didn’t even make it into its respective Conference Title Game but they will have a berth in the National Championship.  Did I miss something?  How did Alabama get a “bye” into the BCS Title Game?  LSU should pretty much play this as a NFL Week 4 Preseason game, because they can’t play their way out of the Championship.  This is what happens when computers dictate titles.

Obama Needs to Cut the BCS; Change We Can Believe In

Now some of you may point to an earlier post I wrote saying that the November 2nd tilt between LSU and Alabama was the National Title Game because those were the best two teams.  I still agree with that sentiment, that those two schools are the best in the land.  So it does make me sound stupid whining about the BCS when it actually is doing its job by picking the best two teams for the title game. But I argue that I don’t want the a computer picking the best two teams for me, I want the grass on the field to do that.

What is wrong with a playoff, even a 4-team playoff?  Suppose if you had LSU, Bama, Oklahoma State, and lets say Boise State or Houston in the tournament.  You could very well get LSU/Bama like we will have this year.  But we could very well have Oklahoma State in the title game as well.  They have easily the best offense of the group, and while their defense has been super suspect, they make enough plays to get by.  And who knows what Boise State would have up their sleeve?  That’s all I want, let the teams decide who is the best.

It’s unconscionable that Alabama, who won’t play in the SEC Championship Game, is in the title game.  The BCS decided their home loss to LSU was not as bad as Oklahoma State losing in double OT on the road to Iowa State on the night of a plane crash that killed coaches on the women’s basketball team.  The BCS decided that Alabama’s wins at home vs Arkansas, at Florida without their starting QB, Penn State with no QB, and Auburn was better than Oklahoma State’s wins at Texas A&M and Texas, vs Kansas State, Baylor, and hopefully Oklahoma so I don’t have to eat crow.  Did I mention that the BCS has human voters?  Sorry, college football will always be second-fiddle to me until they get this straightened out.  Other college football rumblings for the final week of the regular season:

– How about that conference realignment?  Who really got the better end of the deal.  Now the moves by Nebraska, Utah, and Colorado were pretty good (or at least no one cared) and they fit their new conferences.  But Texas A&M and Missouri to the SEC?  Way to be more irrelevant.  Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC?  Aside from a better GPA, the ACC is just as sorry as it has been for a while.  WVU to the Big 12?  They are gonna be using up those frequent flyer miles quick.  Big East as an organization?  A non-factor.  As everybody figured out, these schools really don’t know what they were doing with the realignment, it was just the wild west out there.  Hope it works out.

Arrgh - The Pirate is Back

– The Best conference going ahead is the Pac-12 because they were the calmest.  They didn’t overreach for Texas, Oklahoma, and all the rest.  They took their time and got schools that made sense.  Now they have a better TV deal for money.  Their schools boast personalities like Mike Leach, Lane Kiffin, P. Diddy’s son and Oregon’s uniforms.  See what happens when you play chess and everyone else plays checkers?

– Mike Leach could have been at Maryland.  Instead Maryland got Randy Edsall.  And the Terps were doomed from there.  Their crazy uniforms couldn’t hide their atrocious play.  The worst came this past week when Maryland blew a 27 point lead in 19 minutes in the 2nd half against NC State.  People are calling for Edsall to go.  I don’t know the intricacies of the Terps program, but I do know that when you blow a 27 point lead to cap a 2-10 season, something has gotta give.

– Is there a good QB in the Big 10?  Maybe Russell Wilson and he came from the ACC.  I’d rather watch the 4th quarter of a Redskins-Browns preseason game than a Big 10 clash.  And I should know because I had to watch Penn State every week.  By the way, I’ve never liked Penn State, but I got to give them props for how the team played the last 3 games under the cloud of the scandal in Happy Valley.

Anyways, here is the setup for this weekend of sports.  Saturday might be a good day to go Christmas shopping, just make sure you leave after 2pm and get back in before 8pm.  Best games in the bold, then italics, then regular font.

Saturday, December 3

12-3pm: North Carolina vs Kentucky (CBB on CBS), Southern Miss vs Houston (ABC – Conf. USA Champ Game), Connecticut vs Cincinnati (ESPN)

3:30-7pm: LSU vs Georgia (4pm CBS – SEC Champ Game), Texas vs Baylor (ABC), Marquette vs Wisconsin (4:30pm CBB on Big 10 Network)

8pm: Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State (ABC), Wisconsin vs Michigan State (FOX – Big 10 Champ Game), Virginia Tech vs Clemson (ESPN – ACC Championship Game)

Sunday, December 4

1-4pm: Cincinnati vs Pittsburgh, Atlanta vs Houston, Oakland vs Miami

4-7pm: Green Bay vs New York Giants, Dallas vs Arizona, Baltimore vs Cleveland

The Spread Offense: What Football Purists should know

Tim Tebow’s 5-1 start to revitalize the upstart Broncos has perplexed football fans everywhere. Its not pretty, but he’s winning is the most common description of what they do. Many will credit the defense with the sudden turnaround, holding their past four opponents to 15 PPG. Quite impressive, considering they played the Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders, and Jets in that stretch *insert as much sarcasm as you possibly can here*.  The offense, on the other hand, is seen by most as elementary, nothing but a flash in the pan that will work for a season and eventually fade out like the Wildcat did.

On the other side of the coin, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have led their teams to Super Bowl championships powered by their high scoring offenses.  Since 2007, football fans will agree unanimously that these are two of the premier offensive teams in the league, and show no signs of slowing down.

Why is any of that important? Because all three of these teams use a spread offense attack. If you’re offended or flabbergasted by that last sentence, then you’ve proven my second point in that nobody really knows what the spread offense is. The first thing people will think about are the Hawaiis, the Texas Techs, and the Baylors: pass-happy college offenses that mask average skill position talent with great systems. Arguments that are made about how ineffective these systems would be in the league continue to amaze me, seeing that the New England Patriots have spent the past decade doing the exact same thing. Heres food for thought: remove Randy Moss,  Corey Dillon, and Tom Brady from the Patriots’ recent history and you have a lineup full of #2 receivers, 3rd down running backs, and garbage time signal-callers. (Editors Note: Welker wouldve been added, but a 2 years in Miami averaging 48 catches lets us at the ManCave know he is a product of the system). Keep in mind that this offense  got Matt Cassel ten wins, a franchise tag, and a career in Kansas City. That kind of move would make Master of the Swindle DontbeSkerritt blush. Oh, its gimmicky, but it works.

The spread offense, in the most lay of terms, is an offense strategy used to spread the defense out. It started simply as a response to defenses filling their front seven with gargantuan sized people, and coaches looking for a way to find holes in seemingly impenetrable defenses. Split out a tight end, and a defender has to go with him. Boom, u now have made seven in the box turn into six just like that. So if you want to run, a la the Tebow spread option attack, its now easier. And if you want to pass, just replace that tight end with another wide reciever, and voila, a mismatch has been created.Its really that simple. Youre just spreading the offense out, and running the same thing you usually run. You think the Packers are doing something revolutionary? Mike Mcarthy is a disciple of the West Coast offense, all he’s done is use the same route combinations and put them in a five wide receiver set.  So in essence, the Packers run a spread West coast offense. Hell, the high school I coach for runs a spread Wing-T, so I know the spread philosophy can be applied to nearly any offens.

Theyre just spread out. Hence the name. Its not rocket science.

Its not gimmicky, its utilizing all the space that you have on the field. This “pro style” certain Mancavers clamor for (ahem, Renzuno) are only for quarterbacks who suck. Here’s a list of a few teams who currently use a pro style offense.

• Miami Dolphins
• New York Jets
• Seattle Seahawks
• Cleveland Browns

You know, I thought that statement was a  reach, but after seeing those teams, I dont anymore.

It’s hard to accept the fact that defenses will be playing on their heels, but this is how football works. The offensive creates an innovative system, and defenses find a way to stop it. Nobody could stop the shotgun when it first hit the scene (which is also a product of the collegiate football system. Northern Illinois’ Howard Fletcher invented it in the late 1950s). And as far as the physicality of the game being taken away, I strongly suggest you take a look at what goes on at the line of scrimmage. Pretty brutal if you ask me. More importantly, if you want smash mouth football back, then I should never hear anyone complain about low scoring games being boring. You should enjoy watching Tebow running a 16 Belly out of a double twins set, gaining 4 yards and prepping for 2nd and 6. In fact, Ill find seven of the biggest brutes to line up in double Tight End formation, throw two Mike Alstott-looking runners in the backfield, dig up Charley Dressen’s grave and put him under the center, and have them run dive plays all day. Is that what you want? HUH?! Smashmouth? That would be football at its purest. Right?

Thats what I thought.

Setting up the dive left...with the dive right.

The spread offense can be summed up in two words: competitive advantage. Its not the offense’s job to appease so called football purists, its their job to put points on the board. Its the defense’s job to stop them, and its our job as fans to appreciate the game as it evolves. Im sure when a defensive strategy is made that shuts down the spread, there will be groans about how football is boring again. In the meantime, lets just enjoy the new age of football.