Don’t you just love those Political ads that are on television all of the time, for about two months straight? They are so much fun. All it boils down to is one candidate scum-bagging another candidate just to get ahead, when the reality is, they are all extremely shady. I’ve been gathering some info about the Florida Governor Race, and I came up with this: Alex Sink, Charlie Crist and Rick Scott are all crooks. They are all slimy. They belong in the Political Creep category, just as John Calipari, Billy Gillespie, Jim Zorn and Mike D’Antoni are in the Coaching Creep category. This led to me thinking about what it would be like if every MVP race was debated and settled with such dirty tactics as political races are? That would be so awesome, and so image-mangling at the same time. Just try to imagine this:
Ben Roethlisberger. Not once, but twice has he been accused of sexual assault. If that isn’t bad enough, the girls were only 19 years old. Michael Vick. Does a man who runs a dog fighting ring deserve to win an award that carries so much honor? Probably Not. Peyton Manning is a proven winner. He is a leader and a valuable teammate.
I’m Peyton Manning, and I approve this message.
Or how about this one?
Loyalty. A word that isn’t in the vocabulary of LeBron James. He abandoned his home town, and left them without an NBA title, despite promising year after year it would come. Los Angeles has five titles because of Kobe Bryant. He kept his promise to Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant keeps his promises and wins titles. This message has been paid for by the supporters of Kobe Bryant.
And that would be followed up with this:
Eagle, Colorado. This message has been paid for by Leon Rose, Maverick Carter and William Wesley.
Can you imagine the rivalries that would result because of this? My god it would be amazing. These players would be competing like never before. We also might see a rise in athlete fatalities. I’m not going to take the low road and be a shady like every politician and most high profile coaches are. I’m going to present to you the top three MVP and top three Heisman candidates as of right now. You’re only going to hear the good stuff from the captain.
MVP Award
Peyton Manning- Could we start anywhere else? The Colts offense is like clockwork as long as Peyton Manning is taking the snaps. He makes mediocre receivers into superstars, and has carried the Colts to the playoffs year after year despite not always having a defense or a running game. Anyone who questions that he is the best in the game is crazy.
Stats: 2,184 yards (4th), 15 tds (2nd), 101.4 QB Rating (2nd)
Phil Rivers- San Diego is just 3-5, but it was the same story two years ago when they came storming back to make the playoffs after starting 4-8. It’s not like the AFC West is great. There is a definite chance San Diego can still make the playoffs. If they do, and Rivers keeps up at the pace he is playing at now, he may deserve it. To put into perspective how good he has been, no other quarterback has passed for as many yards in the first eight games of any season as Rivers has this year.
Stats: 2,649 yards (1st), 15 tds (2nd), 98.9 QB Rating (3rd)
Tom Brady- I have to say, I like the Patriots a heck of a lot more without Randy Moss than with him. I think that they are better off going back to “spread the ball around” mode than “let’s throw it deep to Randy” mode. Hell, they won three super bowls without him, and won zero with him (as you can see I am omitting the fact that they went a destructive 16-0 in the regular season). Sure, Brady had his best statistical season ever in the first year of the Moss experiment, but you see how great he really is when he is making Danny Woodhead, Brandon Tate and Rob Gronkowski look like superstars.
Stats: 1,602 yards (15th), 12 tds (6th), 96.6 QB Rating (5th)
Heisman Trophy
Cameron Newton- As of right now, the overwhelming leading candidate. Dare I say, he has a little bit of a Vince Young-esque feel to him? You can never really count Auburn out of any game, even if they are trailing late, just because you feel like Newton isn’t going to lose. Newton has overtaken Denard Robinson as the top duel-threat quarterback in the country, and if Auburn can get past Alabama in Tuscaloosa, he’ll be playing for the title. Along with Newton’s stats, take a look at Vince Young’s stats from the 2005 season where Texas won the national championship. Remember, I was a huge Vince Young at Texas fan, and I still consider him my favorite football player. Young has the upper hand, but I’m just saying the Young/Newton comparison may be valid… if Auburn plays for the championship.
Stats: 1,573 passing yards, 1,122 rushing yards, 29 total touchdowns through 9 games.
Vince Young: 3,036 passing yards, 1,050 rushing yards, 38 total touchdowns.
LaMichael James- The most dynamic player on the most dynamic offense in the country. That counts for something. Oregon is very much the sexy team this year. Their offense is absolutely unstoppable, and that’s what people like. High scoring games, long plays and a different set of uniforms every game. Continuing with the 2005 analogy, LaMichael James would be the Reggie Bush to Cam Newton being Vince Young. Oh wait, Reggie Bush at USC never happened. My bad, I always forget that. Anyways, if Oregon runs the table and James’ productivity stays high, he’s a Heisman threat.
Stats: 1,210 rushing yards, 15 total touchdowns
Kellen Moore- By all means, Kellen Moore is having a great season. Again. His problem, much like his teams problem is he isn’t getting nearly enough credit. Moore has been outstandingly efficient and is once again leading his team to an undefeated regular season. However, his stats aren’t even close to being as good as they were in 2009. In 2009 he had a ridiculous 3,536 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. You take a look at his stats this year, and also look at the way Boise St. has played this year (not much more convincing than last year) and he, much like Boise St. gets lost in the shuffle. In reality, the award should’ve been Moore’s last year. He deserves recognition, but I hope he doesn’t win just because he was slighted last year.
Stats: 1865 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions.
College Football
Oklahoma St. over Baylor
Syracuse over Lousiville
Michigan over Illinois
TCU over Utah
Alabama over LSU
Florida St. over North Carolina
Oregon over Washington
South Carolina over Arkansas
Missouri over Texas Tech
Stanford over Arizona
NFL
Atlanta over Tampa Bay
Chicago over Buffalo
New England over Cleveland
New York Jets over Detroit
New Orleans over Carolina
Baltimore over Miami
Houston over San Diego
Minnesota over Arizona
New York Giants over Seattle
Indianapolis over Philadelphia
Oakland over Kansas City
Green Bay over Dallas
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Current Records:
College Football- 39-21 (6-4 last week)
NFL- 53-36 (8-5 last week)
Yahoo! College Football Picks- 95-78 (9-10 last week, 2,998th in the country)
