Saturday, September 24, 2011

Tidbits of Info on the NFL and Beyond

Here are a few random, unrelated tidbits of knowledge I gathered from watching the entire slate of NFL games last week, plus some thoughts elsewhere in the world of sports and entertainment.

-The Lions are very, very, VERY good. I know you need to take any win over the Chiefs with a grain of salt, well I guess it’s more like a bucket of salt, but it was like watching a team from the SEC play a team from the Sun Belt. They took care of business against a bad team, just like any good team should.

-Matt Forte is the best running back in the NFL that nobody ever mentions as the best running back in the NFL. Without Forte the Bears offense would probably be the worst in the league. Actually, they would. Right now the Bears offense sucks. This is partly because of a front five that look more like bull fighters than offensive linemen and partly because Devin Hester is supposed to be a number one receiver. What a joke. The one bright spot is Forte, who in the Mike Martz offense has given a good impersonation of Marshall Faulk considering the circumstances. If the Bears are going to be successful this year, Forte needs to touch the ball more.

-I like Atlanta’s win over Philadelphia last week. Anytime you get a win over a Super Bowl favorite you can pat yourself on the back. Kudos to you. I’m not totally sold on Atlanta. Aren’t they probably 0-2 if Michael Vick doesn’t go out with a concussion/half bitten off tongue? At this point, I can’t say I’m totally sure if they are a playoff team, and I’m not sure they get a win in Tampa this week.

-Bills fans, start buying plane tickets to Indianapolis right now! I think this is the year! Seriously, after Buffalo beats New England this week, it’s straight to the Super Bowl.
When will the Rex I know so
well make his first appearance?

-Rex Grossman is 2-0.

-Rex Grossman is 2-0… I had to re-type that, it didn’t look right the first time.

-Cam Newton passes the eye test for me. I got to watch a bit of the Packers/Panthers game last Sunday, and he stood out. Even though he has made his share of mistakes, he is more skilled than I thought he would be at this point and he looked pretty confident for a rookie quarterback going up against the defending Super Bowl champs. I’m pretty sure Blaine Gabbert would be crapping his pants in that situation.


-The Chiefs are really, really bad. I know I mentioned this earlier, but it can’t be stressed enough. They are getting outscored 89-10!!! They are currently sitting at the bottom of the NFL power rankings with Seattle and Indianapolis slated as 31st and 30th in the league respectively.

-The NFC West will be won with seven wins again this season. Don’t believe me? I broke down the schedules and it works out. Here are my projected wins are losses for each team in the NFC West.

St. Louis (0-2 right now): Wins (at Arizona, at Cleveland, vs. Seattle, vs. Arizona, at Seattle, vs. Cincinnati, vs. San Francisco)… Losses: (vs. Baltimore, vs. Washington, at Green Bay, at Dallas, vs. New Orleans, at San Francisco, at Pittsburgh)—Overall record: 7-9

Arizona (1-1 right now): Wins (at Seattle, vs. San Francisco, vs. Cleveland, at Cincinnati, vs. Seattle)… Losses: (vs. New York Giants, at Minnesota, vs. Pittsburgh, at Baltimore, vs. St. Louis, at Philadelphia, at San Francisco, at St. Louis, vs. Dallas)—Overall record: 6-10

San Francisco (1-1 right now): Wins (vs. Cleveland, vs. Arizona, vs. St. Louis)… Losses (at Cincinnati, at Philadelphia, vs. Tampa Bay, at Detroit, at Washington, vs. New York Giants, at Baltimore, vs. St. Louis, at Arizona, vs. Pittsburgh, at Seattle, at St. Louis)—Overall record: 4-12

Seattle (0-2 right now): Wins (vs. Cincinnati, vs. San Francisco)… Losses (vs. Arizona, vs. Atlanta, at New York Giants, at Cleveland, at Dallas, vs. Baltimore, at St. Louis, vs. Washington, vs. Philadelphia, vs. St. Louis, at Chicago, at Arizona)—Overall record: 2-14

-More teams should use the triple option offense in college football. Georgia Tech is 3-0 and beating the hell out of their opponents in the process, and Navy nearly beat South Carolina last week because the Gamecocks had no idea how to stop it. If your team stinks, you might as well give the triple option offense a try because its worth at least a touchdown every game.

-Last week at College Gameday someone had a sign that said “Lou Holtz Splash Zone.” I nearly fell out of my recliner. By the way, the reason this week I didn’t go all out with a column this week is because I’m spending most of my time working on a huge “How to Fix College Sports” essay. I’m so sick of the disputes about realignment, post-seasons, corruption, etc. I’m taking the bull by the horns and fixing everything.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Booker T
might be nominated for a Biggie Award!
-Booker T is going to be up for a Biggie Award this year, I’m just not sure if it will be for Best Announcer of Worst Announcer. I can’t help but chuckle every time he talks. The best part of WWE Friday Night Smackdown is his commentary, so I’m leaning towards Best Announcer.

-WWE somehow managed to botch the CM Punk storyline. I’m completely disgusted with it. They really couldn’t get this one right? Triple H had to interject himself into the spot light and dull down the momentum CM Punk was gaining. I don’t have the slightest idea why CM Punk isn’t the champion and being pushed as the number one face on Raw, even though he already is. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, John Cena needs to make a heel turn so new faces can get to the top. Plus, with Cena and The Rock already set for WrestleMania, wouldn’t the match be a lot more interesting if Cena was in the midst of a heel turn? Until the WWE makes a big move like that, the Punk storyline is going to continue to fade and the WWE product will continue to be good when it could be great.

-UFC 135 Picks: Jon Jones over Rampage Jackson, Josh Koscheck over Matt Hughes, Travis Browne over Rob Broughton, Nate Diaz over Takanori Gomi, Ben Rothwell over Mark Hunt

-And finally, my NFL picks which I covered with Paul Clark in the podcast below:
New Orleans over Houston, Philadelphia over New York Giants, Carolina over Jacksonville, New England over Buffalo, Miami over Cleveland, Cincinnati over San Francisco, Tennessee over Denver, Detroit over Minnesota, Baltimore over St. Louis, New York Jets over Oakland, San Diego over Kansas City, Arizona over Seattle, Tampa Bay over Atlanta, Green Bay over Chicago, Pittsburgh over Indianapolis, Dallas over Washington

Last Week: 13-3
Overall: 23-9