Phi Bloga Recapa, Week 14

Sorry, no real introductory remarks today... Weird day of college football yesterday, drank too much last night, a little giddy and running late to get to the bar for NFL action.

I will say I think this "Texas has to go ahead of Oklahoma based on head-to-head match-up" is foolish... Why is the system set up the way it is in for a three-way tie if because head-to-head doesn't work when three teams are pushing on each other for a place.

Anyway, here's a look around sports blogfrica for reactions to this weekend's college action.

Pitt 19 West Virginia 15. 25314 at West BY GOD Virginia says:

Bill Stewart. Jeff Mullen. Dave Johnson.

Ok, you’ve had your year. You’ve proven your ineptitude. Goodbye.

You changed the entire offense because we lost to Pitt last year. Now instead of one bad offenseive game against Pitt, we have played 11 bad offensive games, and still lost to Pitt.

I love a good QB zone on 3rd and 9 twice in one game. I love a ridiculous trick play to the short side of the field on 3rd and goal at the 4. I love that our only TD was on a miraculous run by Pat White on an otherwise terrible 3rd and 4 call. But I especially like losing 4 games in a regular season and having your scoring drop 20 points per game when you return 9 starters on offense.

Thank you Jeff Mullen for bringing the Wake Forest field-goal offense to Morgantown. I’m going to go kill myself now, wait, not me, you.

Arkansas 31 LSU 30. Jeff at LSU TigerBait says:

So, while I watched the entire game, and got a little excited when the Tigers actually started playing football in the second quarter, I mostly just quietly gritted my teeth for three hours.

LSU is a better football team than that putrid performance. I still believe that. I just can't prove it. Not after the last few weeks.

Porous defense, undisciplined play, terrible play calling, a freshman QB in his first start, a struggling running game, an penalties. All LSU lacked was a few ill-timed turnovers to make the tragedy more complete.

Ah, well. Thus ends the 2008 season - and it may just be fitting. The team has been leaderless all year long, and that, in my mind, is the "why" in all of this. No on-field leadership.

There are coaching problems. There are QB and secondary problems. There have been injuries.

But the critical facet of last year's team, who had all of that to deal with and more (except maybe coaching), was the outstanding leadership of Dorsey, Hester, Flynn, and others. That has been missing this year.

Georgia Tech 45 Georgia 42. Mackalicious at Blogging Pantsless says:

Aside from all that garbage, does anyone know why we wouldn't try for an on-side kick with 4 minutes left? Given the fact our defense stopped Tech a whopping one time in the second half I figured we would at least try to keep our offense on the field.

It was a sloppy game, on a sloppy field, and we couldn't get the job done. But we only lost by 3 and that's within a pick 6's margin of error. Best of luck to the seniors, Knowshon, and Matthew next year wherever their career choice lands them. I just hate we're going to see Matthew Stafford in a Lions jersey next year (perhaps that will be enough to get him to stick around for another season???).

OOOO, I almost forgot, that was a HORSESH@# intentional grounding call...okay, now I'm done.

Kansas 40 Missouri 37. AJ at Behind Enemy Lines says:

That little hobbit turned in one of the true great performances I've seen...and even as a fan who hates his guts and the soil he walks on, I can recognize a truly great performance. I'm also pretty proud of my own team, considering they very easily could have packed it up on a cold and snowy day, with their true prize sitting inside the same stadium this time next week.

But regardless, it's a great rivalry, because MOST of us can agree..at least for a short while..the records can go out the window, and it is a thrill to watch two teams who truly hate each other fire every shell they have at each other. Coffman, Meier, Maclin, Sharpe etc...all of these kids battling injury, gutting it out on the field for really what amounts to a game that is completely meaningless sans the bragging rights.

So with that..here's to you KU fan. You've earned your time to crow and you should be proud of your effort.

Alabama 36 Auburn 0. tidefanintn at 3rd Saturday in Blogtober says:

Your rent check bounced, Tigers. You’ll find your things on the curb outside Bryant-Denny.

Hats off to that Auburn defense, though. By stopping a two point conversion and blocking an extra point, they prevented this from being the largest margin of victory in an Iron Bowl since 1948. With the excellent Auburn special teams play, you only have to go back to 1962 to find a whipping this bad. Still, I had hoped the Tide would win by enough to completely erase the margin of victory for the last six years. Sadly, we only took down four of them (and came up one point shy of taking out the fifth).

Florida 45 Florida State 15. ChantRant says:

Why even mention FSU lost by almost the same score as 2007? Here's why: Last year the Noles were outmanned. This year, with more playmakers and speed powering a souped-up, higher scoring offense, you expect better than three more points on the scoreboard. Especially since that offense had its chances. But there was just no fire and fight in what should have been the season's emotional peak. And in their own house.

Instead, it was arguably the season's worst played game, on both sides of the ball. Two examples that had Seminole fans keeping liquor stores busy Saturday night: WRs suddenly couldn't catch a cold (though guys in orange & blue didn't have a problem in the rain), while the Seminole D yet again gave opposing TE's a free pass to the end zone.

Oregon 65 Oregon State 38. OSU Beaver Football Blog says:

Oregon just administered the biggest ass whipping on Oregon State ever.

Oregon State played horrible defense all night. It's ironic that the option offense was what stopped us from going to the Rose Bowl

697 yds of total offense by Oregon was unreal. Oregon's offensive coordinator deserves a ton of credit. Banker got out-coached tonight. Bigtime.

Oklahoma 61 Oklahoma State 41. ccmachine at Crimson and Cream Machine says:

Oklahoma had to earn their points tonight and that is a huge statement for the opponent. I believe that the Cowboys are every bit worthy of their top 15 ranking and shouldn’t fall too far after a 20 point loss at home. On the other hand Oklahoma showed that they are one of the best teams in the country by winning a big game on the road which is something that neither Texas nor Texas Tech can claim. As I say that it is important that we don’t lose the value of this win by tainting it with the BCS talk. It is relevant to the cause but I pointed out the road win simply because it is a major accomplishment for this team because no one seems to win road games against ranked teams in the Big 12.

USC 38 Notre Dame 3. Trojan Horse at the Trojan Empire says:

From the first series of the game, and carrying to the end, Charlie Weis proved there’s no “genius” in his coaching or offense. For four quarters the Trojan domination made the visitors appear no better than the two Pac 10 programs playing in the state of Washington. The Irish may have come in at 6-5, playing the 107th ranked strength of schedule in the country, but Pete Carroll gave them a better measure of their so called improvement from last season, by revealing that nothing has changed. Clear the smoke from their schedule and you see Notre Dame outscored in the last two meeting 76-3 by their biggest rival. That isn’t South Bend progression. That’s a program idle in futility.

To put their misery in perspective, the Irish failed to achieve a single first down in the first 30 minutes of play, and 45 minutes passed before they established one. Their offense totaled just 9 first half yards, 11 passing and -2 rushing. They finished the game with 91 total yards, 4 first downs, and 3 points on the scoreboard. The field goal appeared as an act of desperation, with Weis refusing to be shutout by USC in consecutive years, and for the 4th time versus Irish opponents in the past two seasons.

Free Association #3: Pilgrims Versus Indians

A 15 lbs turkey is chilling in a tub of salty water. Sausage and cornbread stuffing is front and center in my brain. Somewhere in the back of it, I'm figuring out where I can cut corners cleaning before company comes over. Yes, it's almost Thanksgiving -

In football terms, this of course means Detroit and Dallas are set to host underwhelming match-ups during the day. And the sole compelling game - Arizona at Philadelphia - is being broadcast on a network many of us can't get.

(Even if the game was available most of our tryptophan comas are set for 8:30p anyway.)

This might be occasion to bitch about the Lions in Prime Time. Or ask "How bout them Cowboys" and their utter overexposure?

Essentially, though, I agree with Big Daddy Drew on this one - it's a football oasis during a holiday stuffed with the often stilted negotiations of family.

More to the point, there's something comforting in a Lions blowout loss, beyond the sheer familiarity of it. There's comfort in knowing that slightly drunk nap during the third quarter won't force you to miss anything important.

Plus, the lopsided nature of the day allows us to concentrate on what is truly important about Thanksgiving: gorging oneself until an entire pants size is ascended.

For me, there's three courses to Thanksgiving dinner. First, the traditional meal itself. Turkey, stuffing, and gravy are the important components here. Of course, mash potatoes, sweet potatoes, greens, or mac and cheese can all make an appearance. That's all standard fare.

Then comes the pie course. Other desserts are of course welcome, but pie is essential... and in severe danger in my presence.

Finally, perhaps the best part, the evening and late night Turkey-Stuffing-Gravy sandwich. Some people toss cranberry sauce in there. That's all right, but I prefer more gravy and, if I'm feeling like my arteries haven't had enough, slathering on some mayo as well.

In a strange way, these three courses mirror the three game slate. Here's the result of a little Thanksgiving Free Association about tomorrow's line-up in food and football:


So what will Thanksgiving mean when food and football converge tomorrow?

Main Course - Albert Haynesworth Destroying Lions, Buffet Style

We all love the main course, but let's face it - it's not pretty. Sure, everyone starts off with the please's and thank you's... but eventually it comes down to every man for himself. Much like what Albert Haynesworth is going to do to Detroit. Whether he's at your dining room table or lining up across from the Lions offensive line, Fuhbaw imagines Prince Albert destroying both situations like a country buffet.

Pies - Empty Calories of Dallas Victory

The pies and the Cowboys are both headliners. Both are seductive with their crowd-pleasing antics. But in the end, they just give you a headache and make you fatter and stupider.

Turkey + Stuffing Sandwich - Little Seen Shame of Overindulgence

You're full and post-drunk, that disoriented after nap residual confusion, but you can't help yourself from sneaking into the kitchen and throwing a little turkey and stuffing into a bun. You're stuffed, you're a little ashamed, you're just glad that no one's there to see you doing it. Win or lose, the Eagles contest against the Cardinals is similar. It's indulgent after a full day of football. It's a little shameful in football terms. And no one's going to get to watch because it's on the NFL Network.

Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving. Don't drink and drive... don't get into a fist fight with your cousin no matter how big of douche he is. Happy Holidays!

The Notebook, Week 12

Persistent sickness forced me home again, watching Sunday's games from my bed through a haze of made-for-sleep eyes and cough syrup.

I don't have cable so only the local games were available. By happy coincidence both New York teams are near the top of their respective conferences, so both games were important in the national sense of the NFL.

Surging Jets and unbeaten Titans. Crown-heavy Giants and promising Cardinals.

The New York media is abuzz (a-smug?) at the prospect of a subway Super Bowl. Is it justified? Or is it just simply horrific to the rest of the country?

There's little doubt the reigning champ Giants are the best in football. Tom Coughlin's greatest feat might not be winning Super Bowl 42, but turning that unthinkable run into a solid basis for domination week in and week out.

It would be easy to hate on the kind of consistency the Giants are turning out. But who wouldn't want to be in the meeting room on Tuesday morning when Steve Spagnuolo walks in, rubbing his hands together in excitement over the newest defensive game plan? Fuhbaw doesn't often parse out a lot of love for coaches, but what Spagnuolo does on a weekly basis is exciting.

So the question really comes down to the Jets.

Both New York teams won and won by convincing scores. The Jets played a full game, relying on big plays, ball control, defensive stops, and luck all in equal measure.

I'm tempted to say the Titans beat themselves. They went away from their ground game far too quickly. Tennessee's not a team built for domination, but their strengths can be overwhelming given some Southern-fried faith and drop-biscuit consistency. Pound the run, pound the run... give their defense more time to plot just how to squeeze the life out of their opponent.

A winning streak is taxing business. It'll take a greater deal of luck than talent at a certain tipping point. The Titans thought they found a more typical NFL balance the past couple weeks with some big plays through the air in victory at Chicago and Jacksonville.

In effect, they lucked into that aerial assault. And when down to the Jets, they reverted to this assumed new strength. But it faltered because they really upset the balance of what brought their team to the season's midpoint undefeated.

Looking at the Jets-Titans tilt that way, it seems the Jets merely allowed Tennessee to defeat themselves while they forgot who they are. Make no mistake, though, good teams play efficient ball and do precisely that, wait to drive home the killing blow.

And even more than solid if unspectacular all around play, the Jets have an x-factor so crucial to serious playoff runs. Leon Washington in this case.

This summer, I went to the Jets training camp a few times. Even before the Favre trade, I thought there might be something worth checking out in the other New York team. I came to Hofstra for Kris Jenkins. And certainly the big man is making his mark.

But I walked away from my first trip with something else than just the big game. Leon was clearly the best skill player on the field. Just a player without a position. I also had a chance to interview Leon. He was careful with his words and humble, a bit dull if intentionally so.

Obviously smart, obviously committed to the game. He navigated the controversial questions with a slippery ease and refused to even imply criticism of his teammates. His demeanor was deferential, rote in answer and personality in a way so many very good role players, very good professionals in pro football often are. He was content to let his play on the field speak for itself and for me to fill in the hollow cliches at my leisure. I sensed big things for him this year.

Leon's been making the little, and occasionally big, plays for the Jets all year. He was solid all Sunday like the rest of his teammates until the beginning of the fourth quarter when he made one hard cut against an overpursuing Titans defense and sped off 61 yards for a game-breaking touchdown.

Predictably, there was no swagger in Washington's speeding by the field's yard markers, no high stepping... simply a will to get to the score better (forcing the safety into a bad angle) and faster than the other team.

Forget Favre for a second. The Jets have poured a lot of resources into their trenches, into becoming a physical team up front. They can make running a thorny proposition. They can bang it inside and bounce it outside on offense. They can play keep away.

But if they go anywhere in the playoffs, it's because they've got players like Washington fraying the edges of opponents' gameplans so carefully wrought.

The Agony Of the Band

On Saturday Michigan lost to Ohio State 42-7. The outcome and final score were foregone conclusions, the playing of the game a brutal formality.

This time of year the college football world is consumed with the teams at the top. Should Texas or Oklahoma ride out to the Big 12 championship game? Will Oregon State falter in the Civil War? Or can they make it to a Rose Bowl date with Penn State? Will Florida or Alabama prevail in the SEC championship game?

But before we move onto crowns and tournaments of flowers and fruit, let's pause over a program in deep trouble facing an unprecedented identity crisis on the heels of an unprecedented losing season.

Namely, let's dissect what it means to be a Michigan Wolverines fan right now.

Michigan's season is over, a lame loss to rival Ohio State signaled an end to even the most modest redemption narratives. This Michigan team lost more games - nine - than any other Michigan team. The losing season was the first in four decades. And they missed a bowl game for the first time since the mid 70s.

What this means for new coach Rich Rodriguez is unclear. The last few weeks, the graceless hunkering down of harsh reality, have been difficult. Rodriguez has been punchy with reporters, urging fans to keep football in perspective while quipping that they want might to "get a life."

In a sense the season's complete disaster might give Rodriguez the slightest bit of breathing room. Predecessor Lloyd Carr was done under by the slow decay of the program. Had Rodriguez continued on that path, mediocrity and diminishing returns, the boosters and fans might have seen little difference between the two tenures.

That's not to say, the disastrous season is a boon for Rodriguez, but it's an intake of breath before something possibly new, something radically different.

And it's that prospect of change, staring at the abyss of the unknown, that Wolverines fans have been coming to grips with in the last couple of weeks.

College football is something I enjoy, something I love in a way... but it's not something I truly understand. I have no football alma mater. No family ties to programs. And growing up the regional gravity of Wisconsin-Madison was a weak force from my tiny northern Wisconsin town in the upper part of the state.

But there are ways in which I relate to fervent love. While discussing Packers tackle Chad Clifton, a former Tennessee Vol, with blogger Holly from Snarkastic and EDSBS, she coos that he's a "sweetie" and admits to choking upon his selection to the Pro Bowl.

Furthermore one of my favorite writers is a Michigan blogger: Johnny at Ron Bellamy's Underachieving All-Stars. And it's Johnny's words from last week, in the build up to the Ohio State game, that inspired this little postmortem for Michigan... That or the extreme reactions Johnny's words engendered among fellow faithful.

Last Monday, Johnny wrote in a post title After the Gold Rush:

On Saturday, Michigan threw 36 passes and only completed 12 of them. There is nothing discrete in how this team loses. There is no drama or climax; there would be something thrilling in that, at least. This is like rubbing sandpaper on your scalp until you hit brain. There is nothing but snow, and rain, and a numbing, overwhelming, and undeniably hopeless decay of something I once loved, and still do, but much less intensely.

It’s like trying to love a wife who lost her leg in a train accident, or got third degree burns on her face from a grease fire, and now she smokes cigarettes and drinks cheap whiskey from a sleeve of leftover paper cups you bought for some barbecue about a year back. This is not the same woman, and you know it’s not. You see things in her that you remember, things that used to make you happy. But now more than anything they make you sad, because you realize most of the time they don’t exist.

Some readers didn't take kindly to Johnny's analogy, reasoning it an underhanded slight to Rodriguez's West Virginia background. More found unease at the admittance of a crisis about this team at all.

Either way it hit a chord.

Dex at the Wolverine Liberation Army fired back, eloquently so:

I've spent all year yelling, apparently into space, that this is your team. They are not great, they are not "familiar" to you, and they make your testicles smaller when they are beaten by teams we used to slaughter.

Tough. Shit.

It's the last game of the season. There is no bowl. There is no scenic trip to some backwater in the south to play for a tire company exhibition game. There will be no Michigan at Christmas, no Michigan during the Festival of Lights, no Michigan during ESPN CapitalOne MasterCard AutoZone Bowl Week presented by IBM. There will be no Michigan on New Year's Eve. There will be no Michigan to nurse your inevitable hangover on the first, and there will be no Michigan while Chris Rose tries to hold together the worst college football TV crew in existence during the biggest games of the year.

More specifically, the gauntlet was laid down:

It's likely, extremely likely, that these seniors will leave with another loss to Ohio State. So those of you who are disappointed, those who find the performance "unacceptable", those who launch mis-guided, pretentious, faux-literary, never bothered to lace up a cleat in your life, whiny, overly-romantic, over-rated diatribes about the present not being the same as the past; you can all feel free to watch something else. Maybe you can put in your 100th game DVD and masturbate through the tears until you feel good again. You don't need to share in John Thompson's melancholy, pretend to care about Dough Dutch's future while lamenting his past, or wonder if KC Lopata can get a job in AFL2. You don't deserve to watch the last hurrah of Jamison and Taylor. And you certainly don't deserve to hope for one last shot of Morgan Trent's mom.

For the rest of us - it's time to get up. Get your ass off the mat, wipe the blood out of your eyes, pop your shoulder back into place, and go out to get hit in the mouth once again. There's no shame in getting your ass kicked. Only in letting your ass get kicked.

Interesting I found Johnny's response:

People have this bizarre, ridiculously obsessive need to not only root for their favorite team exactly the same way regardless of the circumstances, but also to castigate anyone who roots somewhat differently than they do. It doesn’t give you more privileges if you can recite which high school every player went to, or if you watched every second of every game in person. It’s admirable, but it’s just a feat of strength. People say they love this Michigan team as much as they’ve loved any other, like it makes them an illegitimate fan if they don’t. Well that’s bullshit. You’re not telling the truth. And if you are, there’s something frighteningly wrong with that fact that you can like a player who you’ve known for 11 games as much as you could Jake Long. There’s no justice in that.

You like watching this Michigan team try to catch a kick (not return, simply catch) as much as you liked watching Steve Breaston do it? Maybe you’ve survived it, but you haven’t liked it. It has been miserable. And if admitting that fact and others like it make me less of a fan, if it means I should go fuck myself, or that I don’t deserve to celebrate a victory over Ohio State, then so be it.

People talk about victory as a magic cure-all, but I don't know if this issue at had is symptomatic of losing. Rather, at the moment of great change our reasons, sundry and particular, for loving come to the fore with our fears.

My favorite Packers blogger Robert Lalasz let his wonderful Nietszche Or Nitschke? blog slide into oblivion of rarely updated until he finally pulled the archives from the web. It was a process that started with last of the Brett Favre years. I can only guess at his specific reasons, but there's little doubt the heavy toll of obsession and attachment simply flickered out, or to something much less intense.

It's sometimes so easy to care about sports, a sports team... it's sometimes so very difficult. A few times in the past year, I've considered chucking this whole writing gig and return to simply catching the game when a fictitious life allows and catching up on the hours and hours of sleep I've left behind.

But I can't stop, watching, writing, thinking... and in this I'm certainly not alone.

There's a truth to writing. There's an honesty in claiming one's team in enemy or unfamiliar territory. These two realities don't always fit neatly together. In fact at times like the one Michigan fans are facing, there's a distinct discomfort between the two.

One thing about being a sports fan, it helps develop a rather grim sense of humor. Us fans have to be marathon runners with our focus constantly diverted, with no real end in sight.

Brian and MGoBlog approaches that idea in a post entitled the Perverse Joy of Abject Stupidity:

At halftime I momentarily thought I had found a forgotten pair of hand warmers in the recesses of my jacket, only to pull out an empty packet of trail mix and other assorted detritus. This was worse than having no hope of hand warmers at all.

I then examined the various and diverse pockets of my jacket, coming across nothing useful. I did strike upon my ticket from last April's Frozen Four, which now commemorates the gut-punch loss suffered because of Nickelback and Creed. Thanks for leaving it there, Brian Of Christmas Past. I hope your football team goes 3-9, douchebag.

I spent halftime with my hands on the glass of the pretzel oven. Contraption. Vendor thing. Thing with flames and heat that contains pretzels. Whatever the hell it is. It didn't help much.

This is how weird it's been of late: as I huddled near a pretzel contraption at halftime of a game between 3-7 Michigan and Northwestern, soaked, frozen, pondering the grim futility of all things, I discovered that I was sort of enjoying this. Yeah, sure, you had to peel back layer upon layer of misery to get to the morbidly sunny core. But it was there.

People lucky enough to not be afflicted with sports obsession often marvel at how nasty thing can get between rival fans, rival teams... hell even rival cross country coaches.

But we fans all know that we're harder on ourselves, and the ones we take as being like us, than we can ever be on the others.

Phi Bloga Recapa, Week 13

Watching Oklahoma throttle Texas Tech early, decisively, I kept imagining (hoping?) Mike Leach whispering Obi Wan Kenobi beyond-the-grave sage wisdom into the headset of his quarterback Graham Harrell.

"Trust your re-ceivers." "Stretch out with your wheel routes." "Use the flare." Etc.

But no hokey religions or ancient weapons would save the Red Raiders Saturday night. They got creamed, plain and simple. No hocus pocus, no magic. The dream has died for another season.

The college season entices with its possibilities, with its democracy, but in the end so often the same players, the aristocracy, are squabbling over the same stale piece of cake.

I hate to say it because I don't have any faith in Bob Stoops and the Sooners, but throughout no team in the Big 12 has looked better than Oklahoma. Even in loss to Texas, I thought the Sooners were the superior team: bigger, faster, nastier. They simply played flat-footed when things started to swing the other way.

And that's it, right? Something is slightly amiss with the coaching and emotion at OU. If talent were gold, they'd have enough to sate a 16th century Spanish king, but there's a disconnect when it comes down to fuhbaw contests... not beauty pageants.

But in the world of college football, there's no denying Oklahoma's proved themselves worthy of the Big 12 South crown. What that ultimately means is anyone's guess.

Let's take a look around sports blogfrica for reactions to Saturday's action.

North Carolina State 41 UNC 10. Jacob at TarEye Or BuckHeel? says:

Losing to the team that annoys the fan base the most is the easiest way to get a basketball school looking ahead.

Losing by 31 points just makes it worse.

Butch Davis (0-2) against NC State needs to beat Duke or the season will be severely tainted.

Syracuse 24 Notre Dame 23. NunesMagician at Troy Nunes Is an Absolute Magician says:

The first half was unlike anything I remember seeing out of this team all season. Cam Dantley was a surgeon, picking apart the ND secondary. Curtis Brinkley and Antwon Bailey were running solidly. And the SU defense...my word. I mean, they just made me write "my word." Even though the score was only 10-3, the first 28 minutes of the game was about as well-coached and well-played as I've seen from the Orange all season. Maybe even in the entire Greg Robinson Era.

Wildcat formations, halfback passes, going for it on 4th down in the 1st quarter...who is this Syracuse offense, where they have been and what have you done with our boring, vanilla, plain team?

The last two minutes of the 2nd quarter? Well, it looked like the other shoe was dropping, as it always does. The Irish took a 14-10 lead into halftime and every SU fan surely thought there same thing. "Well, enjoyed it while it lasted..."

The 2nd half started about the same way the first one ended. The Orange offense suddenly looked, well, normal and the Irish were making moves. I blinked and all of a sudden the Orange were down 23-10.

And then, Antwon Bailey happened. Seriously...Doug Hogue who? Delone Carter whatnow? Bailey's final numbers...126 yards rushing, 25 yards passing and a touchdown. With Brinkley on the sidelines (injured or just not working?), Bailey stepped it up with some fantastic moves and runs.

By the time Dantley hit Donte Davis in the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown, there was a wierd feeling going on inside every SU fan. Well, I guess I can only speak for myself but, before he threw the pass...I kinda expected them to score. That's crazy, right? I felt comfortable enough with the Syracuse offense that they would score a go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute to go and win the game on the road at Notre Dame.

What the hell is going on???

Utah 48 BYU 24. JazzyUte at Block U says:

What an amazing game. Brian Johnson is God!

It's just too much to really take in right now. For the second time in five seasons, the Utes are undefeated and heading to the BCS. Who would have thought this possible at the beginning of the season? What an amazing run and I don't care what anyone says, this was the most enjoyable Holy War ever. Just complete domination in that fourth quarter!

I will have more on this game later, but for now, soak it up, enjoy it, celebrate and say it with me: B-C-S!

Oregon State 19 Arizona 17. Jake at Building the Dam says:

James was an integral part of Oregon State's 19-17 win over the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday evening, it's just that a 41 yard, potentially game tying touchdown reception wasn't in the formula. The eldest Rodgers found the seams in the Wildcat defense in brilliant fashion on fly sweeps, rushing for 102 yards on just 10 carries with a touchdown.

On the next play, 3rd and 8 from the Arizona 41, Canfield hit Sammie Stroughter four yards beyond the line of scrimmage on a slant route. Sammie reversed his course, picking up the first down and much more, getting the Beavers inside the ten yard line.

Sammie would eventually be on the receiving end of a seven yard touchdown pass from Sean Canfield three plays later, bringing the score to 16-17 in favor of Arizona.

And then, just when you thought your anxiety couldn't get any higher, Justin Kahut missed the extra point.

Oregon State's fourth quarter touchdown drive included the majority of the adversity the Beavers were forced to overcome in Arizona Stadium.

Cincinnati 28 Pittsburgh 21. DPJ at Cat Basket says:

It is hard to imagine that after being 7-0 against Cincy we now struggle to come up for reasons as to why we are where we are. Sure we should have beat BG and Rutgers. However, Cincy is a team we have owned during the bad times and the good. Except now Cincy has the River City Rivalry trophy on their shelf for 1 whole year.

I just can't believe folks........ There are not any words to describe the emptiness that I am feeling right now. I was prematurely thinking about Miami and Phoenix. Now it is back to the reality of Toronto and Birmingham.

Oklahoma 65 Texas Tech 21. Ryan Hyatt at the Williams and Hyatt Show Blog says:

Tonight, Texas Tech earned everything it got.

No refs, no fluke plays, no excuses. Texas Tech went from Big Time to Not Ready For Prime Time in the span of two weeks.

Everything that had been a strength, was a weakness.

I won’t waste time with an X and O breakdown. Tonight, OU was a better, much better, team and program and proved it on the field. While Tech played the “crimson team”; OU played like their hair was on fire. Mike Leach tries to make it all business and the next play while Bob Stoops obviously made it personal with his players.

That said, you can’t love Mike’s approach for 10 wins and then bitch about it the night it doesn’t work. Life don’t work that way.

Our First Defensive Tackle President

In the NFL, everyone defines MVP differently.

Is it awarded to the player most valuable to the league or to his team?

Does it honor one player’s accomplishments in spite of his team or a team’s accomplishments through one pivotal player?

Is the MVP race a numbers game? Or is it more about the kind of domination that alters the plans and plots of games week in and week out?

At least, that’s the debate. The results reveal the MVP award, especially for this decade, as a numbers game. And a numbers game played by quarterbacks and running backs only.

That's a shame because that numbers game will deny a deserving MVP candidate his shot at the award this year. Specifically, Albert Haynesworth, defensive tackle, Tennessee Titans.

The basic formula runs, if a quarterback helms a playoff team and approaches or breaks a major single season record (yards, touchdowns, rating) pencil them in to hoist the trophy. If no playoff bound quarterback posts exceptional numbers, then any running back on a playoff team approaches or breaks the yardage or touchdown records is considered.

But does that formula truly honor individual value in a team sport?

Consider two examples, two of the last three MVPs: Tom Brady and Shaun Alexander.

Tom Brady won last year for helming a team undefeated in regular season play and for throwing an NFL record 50 touchdowns.

But was Brady really the difference? Yes and no. Obviously, as evidenced by this year, his presence and play are intergral to the team’s consistent contention. But consider that Brady’s numbers year in and year out prior to 2007 were eeriely identical.

2002: 62% comp 3764 yds 28 td 14 int
2003: 60% comp 3620 yds 23 td 12 int
2004: 61% comp 3692 yds 28 td 14 int
2005: 63% comp 4110 yds 26 td 14 int
2006: 62% comp 3529 yds 24 td 12 int

What pushed him and the team over the edge to a 16-0 regular season record while completing 69% of his passes for 4806 yards and 50 touchdowns against only 8 interceptions?

I would argue, and I know I’m not alone on this, Randy Moss changed the Patriots offense and its prospects entirely. (And I would argue that New England down Brady would be sunk without Moss this year.)

Moss broke his own records too during the 98 catch 1493 yard 23 touchdown season. And he spurred his team and quarterback to new heights. There’s your value right there, turning scrappy (if ugly) victory into domination. Over the five previous seasons Brady averaged 26 touchdowns a year. Watch those jump balls Brady threw last year and try to deny that Moss's record breaking 23 weren't directly responsible for Brady hitting 50?

Consider Shaun Alexander, the 2005 MVP.

During Seattle’s Super Bowl run, Alexander tallied 1880 yards rushing at a 5 yard per carry average. But most importantly Alexander found the endzone a then-record 28 times (27 rushing, 1 receiving).

A couple prior season Alexander approached those general numbers, not quite the touchdown record, but the above average production to be sure. For the entirety of his career through his MVP season, Alexander ran behind left tackle Walter Jones and left guard Steve Hutchinson (minus 12 games in 2002 in which Hutchinson was injured).

The very next season, in 2006, Hutchinson left Seattle for Minnesota and Alexander began a sharp decline that led to his eventual dismissal from the team. His yards per carry plummeted from above 5 to around 3.5. His rate of producing touchdowns dropped by more than half. He absorbed more hits and eventually regressed into an expendable back.

Perhaps more than age and injuries, the loss of Hutchinson affected Alexander in 2006. By 2007 the hits absorbed affected his body and his mentality to the point of exposing him as an average back regressing into awfulness.

The credit for Alexander’s elite 2005 numbers should really go to Hutchinson, Jones, and center Robbie Tobeck for plowing through opposing defenses creating running lanes to the record books for an average running back. There are your 2005 NFL MVPs.

Statistics are nothing without context. That’s certainly what makes the Football Outsiders’s work so key, their advanced metrics measuring context and assigning appropriate value to play on the field. They know that stats fail the game if they obscure the real story, if they don’t reflect that game we see on tape.

So what’s the real story of 2008? As far as the MVP race is shaping up, Drew Brees might break the single season yardage record for quarterbacks. Old man Kurt Warner is leading the Cardinals to the playoffs and the leauge in passer rating. Clinton Portis and Adrian Peterson are neck-and-neck for the rushing crown.

But the real surprise of the season is the Tennessee Titans undefeated ten games in and favored to win most down the stretch.

How did Tennessee (sorta) come out of nowhere? Consistency in their coaching staff at the top and on the defense is huge. Rookie running back Chris Johnson has opened up the offense. Kerry Collins has managed important games, won a few others.

But week in and week out, the Titans bring the best defensive unit in the league to play. The haven't allowed more than 21 points all season and are averaging only 13 points allowed per game. If Kerry Collins and company can't put up 14 points a game, then the entire offense should be demoted to the ACC or Pac-10.

And while the defense is talented all around, the play of one man has propelled them from very good to great. And he plays a position that doesn’t net gaudy statistics yet is literally central to almost every play of the game.

By the numbers, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth is posting an excellent year for his position. Seven sacks on top of 39 tackles and a couple passes defended and a couple forced fumbles. Projected across the remaining season that’s 62 tackles, 11 sacks, 3 passes defended, and 3 forced fumbles.

Again, elite stats for a defensive tackle, but not a testament to how vital he is to the defense overall in collapsing the pocket and creating mayhem.

The team has 28 sacks overall, a very good if not recording breaking clip.

But look where those sacks are coming from. From the end position 13.5 with no one end dominating. Kyle Vanden Bosch and Jacob Ford each have 3. Somebody named Dave Ball has 3.5. Jevon Kearse the big free agent signing has only 2.5. Haynesworth’s constant disruption is in large part responsible for opportunities around.

Of the 10.5 sacks from the tackle position, Haynesworth has 7. Fellow tackle Tony Brown has 3.5, a very good number for tackles, but again in part due to the double teams often shifted to Haynesworth.

The remaining sacks have all come from the defensive backfield. What’s notable about that? No linebackers for Tennessee have a sack on the season. That’s amazing.

The Titans don't blitz their backers because they don't have to. The pass rush upfront by the front four is enough for most of the entire game outside the occassional corner or safety blitz.

In the modern NFL, this just doesn't happen. Even teams like Indianapolis, Tampa, and Chicago who run the Cover Two scheme which limits blitzing backers, call blitzes to keep their opponents off guard.

Watch any of the ten Titans game from the season and you see quarterbacks constantly shifting around the pocket, forced to throw too early. Lots of hurries, lots of incompletes, lots of ugly offensive plays. And not a lot running backs get beyond the linebackers after bouncing off the chaos in the middle.

Haynesworth’s impact is the kind of impact that doesn’t often register enough in the stat columns and when it does doesn’t register with the resounding crash and bang that it should. But it’s the kind of impact that will get a team to the edge of a championship.

If the Titans go 15-1 or 14-2 this season and cruise through the playoffs, then MVP voters should look to the team because it does showcase one player utterly dominate at his position making a unique impact on this season.

But they won’t because Haynesworth’s athleticism and dominance isn’t the stuff of highlight reel endzone celebrations. It’s frustrating, but it’s true.

I refuse to give much attention to an award that barely considers one entire half of the game. There hasn’t been a defensive MVP in over 20 years and only four total since 1957, the inception of the AP award.

But in putting together a season like Alan Page did in 1971, in a year in which defense is re-exerting itself, the voters are making a mistake overlooking one of the league’s biggest forces this season.

ACC All Apologies

During this past week's Phi Bloga Recapa, I tossed off a couple bland criticisms of the ACC in my introduction.

I want to apologize... not because the criticisms aren't valid.

Rather, the diction and drift of what I published fell short of my usual standards.

As I mentioned early today in my belated Notebook post, illness laid me low over the weekend. Still, I'm not fond of falling back on excuses for piss-poor prose.

In case you missed it on Sunday morning, here's what I wrote:

Does anybody want the ACC? The entire conference could be had for a song, I bet.

Just when it looks like new powers are emerging, the old guard reasserts. By some dizzying math, Boston College (3-3 in the conference) controls their own destiny.

Somehow, Miami at Tech and FSU at Maryland and BC at Wake are all pivotal upcoming games. Weird. You can't tell me that this confusion makes the Orange Bowl compelling...

Okay, all true. The ACC is a mess this year. A season where, after twelve weeks, all twelve teams in the conference could potentially finish with bowl eligible records (unlikely, but at this point still possible) is perhaps its own indictment of the conference. Parity works for the NFL... not so much for a single conference in college football hoping to compete with the best of the Big 12 and SEC.

The point is, I had lodged in my memory a much more potent example of this lurching awkward unfolding of events in this year's ACC. And the moment came during Saturday's drizzly contest between UNC and Maryland.

The wet field already provided slip-and-slide entertainment as ballcarriers and tacklers often propelled for several additional yards once slammed to the slick ground.

At one point, however, during a critical second quarter drive in the low scoring game, Tar Heels quarterback Cameron Sexton scrambled up in the pocket and faced a wide open running lane.

As he planted his foot to go, something gave though.

Not his footing, the cleats apparently long enough to find traction still.

No, instead the ball simply, suddenly on its own volition and without remorse slipped out of Sexton's hand and bounced away from him on the soggy turf.

Like the ball, the Tar Heels fumbled away their chance at a clear shot to the ACC Championship game by losing 17-15 to Maryland. That fumble might be a fitting metaphor for the conference at large where such implosions are set by a weekly timer.

The Notebook, Week 11

(Fighting a fever and an aching body these past few days so apologies if my delayed comments run the gamut from perplexing to illogical.)

Pittsburgh as a team always seems to be running the gauntlet.

That’s not entirely true. Their schedule last year wasn’t overly tough outside some thorny late season contests. Plus, their division always includes at least one pushover.

Consider, however, their consistent playoff contention and the several high profile games that go along with that. Pittsburgh's challenges are often in the spotlight. And this year certainly the Steelers are playing a murderous slate. New York, Washington, and Indianapolis in the rearview. New England, Dallas, and Tennessee down the road.

A few weeks back, in loss the Giants, I called the Steelers “dangerous but incomplete.”

What team is complete though? Maybe the Giants? One Eli Manning four interception Toss-de-Force, like against Minnesota last year, kicks that notion to the curb. The Titans seem to win in spite of themselves. The Cowboys have so much of everything except intangibles.

It's difficult to bury Pittsburgh for their offensive line woes or untimely turnovers when so many other things are done right.

And it's difficult to hold their tough losses against them. The unforgiving schedule has exposed flaws - Roethlisberger's fondness for triple coverage, team-wide runs on yellow flags. But it's also underscored strengths, like the defense's ownership of the game inside the hashmarks and solid clock management.

Unlike say Carolina, the Steelers are battle tested, bearing more than a few scars.

There was a deceptive domination to Pittsburgh's 11-10 victory over the Chargers Sunday. Controlled on the ground, disrupted in the air, the San Diego offense couldn't find rhythm or the big play all afternoon. The Chargers were overwhelmed by Troy Polamalu's athleticism and James Harrison's James Harrison-ness.

The Pittsburgh offense dominated the clock and in-between the 20's even if it couldn't find the endzone. Ben Roethlisberger ran the passing offense like the classic Steelers running game, high percentage intermediate tosses, moving chains.

Both the Giants and Packers won by blowouts this past weekend. But there's something more resounding about the Steelers confident, close victory. Perhaps, winning big often takes a bit of luck to cover up failings and flaws. To win with those failings on display or to fight against them closely, consciously, paints a pretty tough portrait of a team.

In all, it's a good sign for a Steelers team that could once again get the drop on their situation come playoff time.

For the Chargers, however, the frustrating season continues. The impression I have is that San Diego was beat by precisely the team they hoped that they were. The loss, of course, proving that they are not near that level, that consistency.

I'm not saying that San Diego's built a team exactly like Pittsburgh, or tried to. Both defenses rely on aggression... but the Steelers harness more chaos, and consequently the pass rush comes from almost anywhere. The Chargers will line 'em up and rush, but their best comes from a ballhawking secondary, one that gives up a few big plays, but ultimately shuts down near the endzone.

I’ll admit to hating Philip Rivers posting very good to elite numbers over his short career. Sure, his hawking of virginity is cringe-worthy, as is his sincere mock sincerity and temper tantrum style of leadership… but I could look past all that if his on the field style possessed some undeniable quality to it.

Instead, his strong arm is undermined by an ugly throwing motion. His pocket mobility is marked by awkward hopping and jerking. His playfakes are unconvincing and potentially spastic.

At least there's symmetry to the inner-douchebag and outward style of awkward quarterbacking.

It's easy to forget that this up and coming Chargers team was at one time compelling and sympathetic. LaDainian Tomlinson, the best of his generation, and a tough defense always getting close, but not close enough. Then Rivers and Norv Turner and steroids and squabbles within and without the team.

Last year's performance in the AFC Championship game was supposed to confirm the mettle of this Chargers team. Antonio Gates playing on bum and doped-up foot. Rivers planting and throwing on a shredded knee. The defense making life miserable for a record breaking Patriots offense.

Somehow, it didn't become the building block San Diego hoped it would be. They could still win the West. But they've dropped a lot of close games, the kind of games Tennessee wins, the kind of games Pittsburgh knows, the kind of games Indianapolis is starting to win...

Phi Bloga Recapa, Week 12

Does anybody want the ACC? The entire conference could be had for a song, I bet.

Just when it looks like new powers are emerging, the old guard reasserts. By some dizzying math, Boston College (3-3 in the conference) controls their own destiny.

Somehow, Miami at Tech and FSU at Maryland and BC at Wake are all pivotal upcoming games. Weird. You can't tell me that this confusion makes the Orange Bowl compelling...

Anyway, here are reactions to this week's college action from around sports blogfrica.

Miami 16 Virginia Tech 14. C Gally at the North End Zone says:

Bryan Stinespring is awful at his job. One of the worst we've ever seen. If we performed like that at our job, we'd be fired faster than Ryan "Fired Guy" Howard.

We're not saying we could do better. Again, we don't know football that well. But let's look at the facts, shall we?

There are 119 college football teams in Division 1-A. You know where we rank in offense? 109th. Just ahead of San Jose State and Syracuse. San Jose isn't even a state. Hell, we are last in the ACC in offense. Last in the worst conference in the world.

We'd like to say it's a fluke. That we lost a ton of guys and are really young. But that would be a lie. Our rankings for yards per game since 2003:
2007 - 100th
2006 - 97th
2005 - 57th (wooooooooo!)
2004 - 69th
2003 - 69th (at least we're consistent)

Check it out kids.

And we want to be an elite program? Are you kidding? Light years away.

Georgia 17 Auburn 13. Sports Dawg at An Opinion On Sports says:

I've heard it said before after a really good, hard-fought game that neither team deserved to lose. Well after the Georgia - Auburn game today, all I can say is that neither team deserved to win. Even though Georgia prevailed 17-13 and 'improved' (?) to 9-2, it was one of the 'worst' victories I can remember in a long time. Again for the second week in a row, the Bulldogs managed to hang on at the very end to defeat another lesser opponent they should have dominated by at least 21 points. Auburn is not a very good football team, and Georgia seems to deteriorate weekly right before our eyes. The Dawgs lack discipline, and they don't play with the intense fire that fuels motivation. They don't appear to be fundamentally sound, and here we are in the 11th week of the season.

Florida 56 South Carolina 6. Gatorpilot at Orange and Blue Hue says:

This is getting ridiculous.

Florida has defeated its last six opponents by a total of 299 to 63. That is not a misprint. I will state it once more: 299 to 63. In the SEC!

As a fan, even I sometimes feel the same bewilderment coaches such as Spurrier, Miles and Richt have felt when facing the Gators. It’s not fair — not even close. This is like the U.S. Air Force vs. Al Queda shooting bottle rockets out of caves. Like Andre the Giant vs. Pee-Wee Herman. Like… oh, hell, you get the picture.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe your 2008 Florida Gators could — could — possibly be the best team to take Florida Field in the history of this football program. Two important games remain against two good teams, and then the ultimate contest. Florida must win all three for to earn that title.

But right now, would you bet against them?

Maryland 17 UNC 15. T.H. at Carolina March says:

That was a crap football game.

It was a crap football game, played in the rain, at a miserable stadium in a miserable town among miserable people subjected to an endless barrage of the same two cuts off whatever miserable Jock Jams CD the Maryland AV Club dug out of a bargain bin. It was a crap football game in which UNC, with a chance to accept clear control over the Coastal Division instead, for the third time this season, not show up for the second half and give it away. It was a crap football game that was painfu to watch and I am all the worse for being subjected to it.

Boston College 27 Florida State 17. Chant Rant asks what FSU fans learned from the loss to BC:

That with so much to play for, since Wake's loss conveniently teed up the Noles to win the division, FSU players could be out-hustled by a team with a smart plan and refuse-to-lose attitude.

That a light, quick offensive line can beat a bigger defensive front, but not when that defense is at least as quick, more disciplined, and motivated.

That, on the other hand, stout defense and hard-nosed tackling can occasionally take the night off.

That when it comes to calling pass interference, Ron Cherry's ref crew is on a different planet than other college zebras.

That Christian Ponder has come a long way, but may be only half way there. And that D'Vo needs to play more than one or two snaps a game.

That excessive celebration can result in more painful things than a penalty.

That even after the suspensions for fighting, some players still wanted to get it on after the final gun. Apparently an important lesson yet to be learned.

That we never again want to see those damn black uniforms.

Vanderbilt 31 Kentucky 24. Diezba at Star and Stripe says:

For the first time in twenty-six years, for the first time when a sixth-win was on the line in 17 tries, and for the first time in my lifetime, the Vanderbilt Commodores are bowl eligible.

MSM Mad Libs: Snap Judgments

I go back and forth on mainstream media sportswriting. I’m not as stridently critically as Deadspin, but there’s no doubt a lot of hacks out there.

It’s hard not to groan through a Michael Silver reference to hip-hop or cringe at a Peter King send-up to a Starbucks in the Charlotte Airport. Not every writer approaches their subjects with the depth of a Wright Thompson or the deftness of a Bob McGinn.

No, more often than not, knee-jerk reactions are the stock-in-trade of weekly columnists working under tight deadlines on a shortage of ideas.

That’s why I’m introducing MSM (mainstream media) Mad Libs, a way to digest the empty calories of hack writing with a little cleansing fiber.

I freely admit to adapting this idea from a preseason Football Outsiders column by Mike Tanier. Tanier offered a tongue-in-cheek Write-It-Yourself training camp report (want a few more hyphens?) for busy editors and journalists. Tanier's tack was subversively satrical. Mine's more a little more straight-up absurd.

To kick off my first MSM Mad Libs, let’s salute the king of the knee jerks, SI.com’s Don Banks. Erasing key verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, I’ll fill in the blanks with much more colorful words and phrases. You can play along in the comments section, too!

Taken from Banks’s Snap Judgments column this week, here are three passages with MSM Mad Libs potential (I caution not actually clicking through to the original Banks column if you value your mental alertness, trust me on this).

On New England returning to the playoffs:

We all know by now the New England Patriots are going back to the playoffs future. Let's just book it. As much as the Week 1 loss of Tom Brady hurt the defending AFC champions level 4 Dungeon Masters, it's not going to wind up snapping their streak of five consecutive trips to the postseason 4-H Blue Ribbons.

And don't forget, they've still got games against Seattle and Oakland, who won't even be able to stay on the field in a Super 8 motel with them. New England is a winning hug-and-kiss machine because losing streaks are not allowed under Bill Belichick's reign. Since 2003, the Patriots are 16-1 after a loss Hugh Grant movie marathon.

On Rex Grossman:

I know it made for a juicy pre-game hot tub sub-plot last week, but Rex Grossman won't be staging a career Coco Chanel-inspired makeover just as his contract is set to come to a close in Chicago this year. The Bears one-man rollercoaster ride seedblaster of a quarterback is who he is at this point. Part Good Rex border collie, part Bad Rex listener. And there won't be any evidence to the contrary coming from this midseason orgiastic relief stint in place of injured man-hewing Bears starter Kyle Orton.

On the Saints:

The Saints, my NFC Super Bowl pick, aren't going anywhere this season. They just don't have it enough tampons. New Orleans' defense The specter of gingivitis remains a problem, and the improvements that I thought the Saints made on that side of the ball continue to be insufficient. You are what your record baby momma says you are in the NFL, and the Saints are a 4-5, last-place team magical unicorn. And even that 521 72 yards trombones of offense at Atlanta on Sunday rings hollow.

I'd love to read your attempts in the comments.

State of the League: Token Failure

The NFL season is at its halftime. Not that there's a big break or stirring speech for anyone now that the byes are done.

Even though I'm skeptical that the entire NFL season represents a sufficient sample size to make sound deductions, nine games are enough to draw some conclusions and test a few theories.

So what is the State of the League at midseason? This third and final part looks for failure's biggest symbols in 2008 so far.

The Commissioner and his commitment to parity have us embroiled in costly wars on three fronts.

The AFC East is without a frontrunner. The NFC East is without a losing record. And, surprisingly, the NFC South is without a whipping boy.

The coming month is filled with battles between these three divisions which promise to be bruising affairs. Jets at Patriots and Cowboys at Redskins this Sunday. Panthers at Falcons in week 12. Giants at Redskins in week 13. And Eagles at Giants and Buccaneers at Panthers in week 14.

Furthermore, the believers in defense are on the march. Aptly named Titans and Giants lead their respective conferences. Pittsburgh is close on Tennessee in the AFC and Carolina is chasing New York in the NFC. These four teams are playing the most consistent defense week to week. Tampa and Baltimore are right there in defensive play and consequently in record, too.

But this season isn't simply marked by divisional arms races and the triumph of defensive tactics.

No, this season is notable as much for its failures as for its triumphs.

Failure is relative. The stumbling of Dallas in the past month isn't as catastrophic as Seattle's thorough meltdown. Yet both teams have hit considerably short of the mark, languishing near the bottom of their respective divisions despite playoff aspirations.

By my estimation, five teams have truly disappointed beyond all others through the first nine games: Cleveland, Dallas, Jacksonville, Oakland, and Seattle. Sure, San Diego has failed to dominate despite their talent, but they remain only a game out of their division lead. And other teams scraping the bottom of the barrel like Kansas City, Detroit, and Cincinnati are simply living up to low expectations.

Let's look at one moment or situation emblematic of each of these five teams' struggles thus far this season.

Cleveland Browns

Cusp of playoffs last year, cusp of irrelevance this. The rising star quarterback is playing like damaged goods, deserving the hook he got. The rebuilt defense is little different than the previous broken down defense. And the running game behind their one point of true depth - the offensive line, supposedly the best one to five in the league - is managing only a pedestrian 101 yards rushing a game.

The problems extend beyond one player, one unit. It's team wide... but if the team is clicking, it's reflected in the performances of their two precocious receivers, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, Jr. Last year, the duo dominated more often than not. This year, well, the simple numbers tell it.

Last year, either Edwards or Winslow ranked as the top receiver in eleven of Cleveland's sixteen games. Of those eleven games, seven were Browns victories.

This year, Winslow and Edwards have ranked as the top receiver in just one game a piece, or only two out the team's nine games. Both of those games were victories.

When the duo is running free through the opponent's secondary, Cleveland has a chance to win. Coach Romeo Crennel's decision to bench Derek Anderson for Brady Quinn last week then is a little more understandable. Anderson has failed to dish the team's two best weapons like he did in big way last year.

Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo's broken pinkie surely is a small digit with a large reach over Dallas's destiny. But like Zac at Throwing Into Traffic enumerated after the Roy Williams trade, there's something fundamentally wrong with the Cowboys beyond the injury report, something that goes to the core of their continued inability to match high expectations.

On this point, I wrote the following words on Pacman Jones but didn't publish them for varying reasons. Now, in light of the Cowboys struggles, I find them apt.

On Pacman, I don't know if I have anything new to contribute. He's undoubtedly a talent. He's undoubtedly incredibly stupid or pathetically weak-willed, take your pick.

What I do find interesting is the disconnect between the man's talent and his ability to exist within society.

Pacman's position, cornerback, at which he excels requires split-second decision making.

Yes, Jones sports raw athletic ability allowing him to quickly recover from mistakes.

But the point is playing corner at a high level, requires athleticism, grace, but most importantly keen instincts, some natural "smarts" for lack of a better word.

And unlike say linebackers who are trained to hone their seek-and-destroy instincts, corners play a much more subtle game of speed, misdirection, and positioning.

In Pacman's case what is troubling is his inability to make these instincts, which have made him one of the more dangerous cover corners in pro ball, work for him. His recklessness is so deep set, his contempt for authority so complete, he can't react in the interest of his own preservation beyond base survival or wounded pride. He can't keep focused on what's in his ultimate best interest.

Obviously we're all wired a little differently. Pacman's a Shiva, a destroyer, a person who tugs apart the seams of society. They necessarily exist but they also necessarily exist at the fringes of society.

While pro football can accomodate some unique individuals (see: Williams, Ricky) it cannot do so without these individuals sublimating their uniqueness, at least for a time to the overall identity of the team.

And while the testimony of Pacman's Tennessee teammates affirms Pacman is no problem on the practice field, in the locker room, he cannot rectify his conduct within the NFL to his conduct without it.

The repeated warnings, the barrage of questioning, the ever present legal action for past offenses, none of it sunk in... Perhaps that displays another trait of great cornerbacks: a short memory.

Substitute "Dallas" for "Pacman," "frontrunner" for "cornerback," and "salary cap" for "society."

Jacksonville Jaguars

Before last week's game, coach Jack Del Rio was asked by reporters if a change in team chemistry was responsible for the team's struggles this year. His answer? "That's the $64 million dollar question."

Del Rio refused to pin it on high-priced free agents, like receiver Jerry Porter and corner Drayton Florence, who've struggled. And there's little denying something's off all the way around.

Quarterback David Garrard was eerily efficient during the regular season last year. He learned a little clutch in the playoff defeat of Pittsburgh. This year Garrard, after starting off terribly, has played slightly above average, often relying on his legs more than his arm. Running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor who so often played like the two halves of one dominant back have only posted one game where they've both played at high level. And the stingy defense has been played well, but not lights out like they had at times last year.

To Del Rio's point about chemisty, consider this. Before last Sunday's trouncing of the Lions, the Jaguars were 3-5. In all eight of those games, none of their wins or losses were by more than 7 points.

And that number isn't deceptive because of garbage time touchdowns. The Jaguars have been in each loss until the last few minutes, sometimes seconds, of the game. Conversely, before facing Detroit, they hadn't posted a resounding win, one wrapped up before the game's final seconds.

This is the portrait of talented team without focus, divided.

Oakland Raiders

An argument can be made the Raiders don't belong on this list. The team's struggles in the past several season are well documented. And as my friend Les succinctly put it, "the Raiders are organizationally retarded, that team should move to Alaska."

But let's not forget, Al Davis went all in on this season. Some people even foolishly threw their weight behind the seemingly insane free agent spending spree, betting that Davis finally figured out how to update the classic Raiders model to current day athletes and coaches.

But paranoia has displaced swagger; desperation, gutsiness; confusion, culture. Davis has already axed a head coach and a starting corner this season. The actions have alienated good soldiers like Nnamdi Asomugha and Gibril Wilson.

There's no more telling moment of the Raiders football than their game against Atlanta in Week 9. The Falcons rolled up the most complete half of football played this season in the game's first half. Atlanta's defense held the Raiders to minus two yards for the entire half while the offense scored 24 points.

Here are the notable numbers for the game:

Time of possession: Atlanta 45:15. Oakland 14:45.
Total net yards: Atlanta 453. Oakland 77.
JaMarcus Russell: 6 completions, 19 attempts, 31 yards, no touchdowns, 1 interception.

The final score of 24-0 makes the game appear closer than it was.

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle's hold on the West appears finished. Down four games to Arizona, their defense is porous, their offense has only scored more than 20 points once this season (and that in loss). Coach Mike Holmgren in his last season is watching the careful constructed franchise totter and fall without ever ascending to a championship.

You can point to long list of no-names on the team's reception list: Billy McMullen, Keary Colbert, Courtney Taylor. You can point to the astounding number of long plays given up by a highly compensated defense. You can obsess about the favorite of KSK's Captain Caveman, Brian Russell, and the widening definition of "Safety."

But I have in my possession some telling photo evidence that might get at the heart of the issue...

What's wrong with this photo?



Hmmm... Take a closer look...



Closer...



Bingo! Charlie Frye sighting. Seneca Wallace may have taken the reigns since Frye's debacle of a game against the Packers (12/23, 83 yds, 2 tds, 2 ints) but Matt Hasselbeck cannot come back soon enough.

The Notebook, Week 10

Watching the Sunday night prime time game between New York and Philadelphia, I couldn't help but ruminate further on my Packers losing to Minnesota early in the day.

What does a pivotal battle between NFC East heavyweights fighting for division supremacy have to do with a sloppy contest between mid-tier North division teams clinging desperately to edge of the NFC playoff picture?

It's more about what they don't have in common than what they do.

Coming into a Giants-Eagles tilt these days, the static cautions a defensive battle. That logic even includes a nifty ready-made drama between the two division rivals, namely, Giants coordinator Steve Spagnuolo serving under Eagles coordinator Jim Johnson for much of his career until taking the job in New York.

The teams share a philosophy of attacking defense, even if they accomplish their goals with different personal through slightly different means. The Eagles put more stock in their backfield, the Giants in their line. But both blitz and, just as importantly, disguise and fake the blitz from several positions on the field.

And both defenses execute the gameplan excellently more often than not.

But in last night’s game, it wasn’t the defenses - the built-in storyline - taking charge. It was the big, mauling offensive lines.

Certainly, both defenses played well and created pressure situations for both Donovan McNabb and Eli Manning. Both passers were hurried and hit. Both were forced into interceptions off that rush.

Yet, Philly netted the lone sack of the game. Trent Cole set up David Diehl faking an inside move before sliding in nearly untouched under Diehl’s outside. More often than not, though, Manning and McNabb stood upright in the pocket during critical late drives picking apart the opposing secondary.

And the Giants offensive line brutalized the Eagles front seven for over 200 yards rushing on the evening. Whether Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, or Ahmad Bradshaw carried the ball, New York behind guard Chris Snee or center Shaun O’Hara pulling busted through a top-flight defensive line and solid linebackers for big gains again and again.

The physical play of both lines also underscored a shared philosophy between these teams of the East: championship teams are built on the backs of big physical linemen.

New York uses their fatties to drive block opponents into submission. Philly creates a wall from which McNabb can hit a hot streak or Brian Westbrook can take a screen across the defense. The two teams employ their big bodies in different fashion, but expect their prized attributes - bulk and nasty demeanors - net the same result: punishing victories.

So what does this have to do with Green Bay’s close loss to Minnesota in the Metrodome?

Earlier in the Sunday slate, I had to watch my Packers claw back into a game they had little business winning. That’s not exactly true. The secondary continues proving why we let Charles Woodson do his thing and why we’ve waited patiently for Nick Collins to piece together his game. And the special teams highlights why the front office rolled out unspectacular veterans at the bottom end of the roster for athletic youth the past couple seasons.

And Ryan Grant continues his journey back to dangerous, recalling last year when the smallest bit of daylight burst wide for an ankle-breaking ride through the second level.

But that last one is perhaps to the point. Why must the Packers talent overcome fundamental deficiencies in the squad’s make-up? Why is the offensive line a liability when facing a physical team, such as Minnesota? And how does a talented but ultimately borderline playoff team like Green Bay expect to compete without a mauling line?

The Vikings are the only team in the North to follow the blueprint the East has used to rise to prominence. The tragedy of their chronic underachievement is that the lines, both offense and defense, are so talented, so punishing. The ultimate indictment of their coaching and personnel decisions is that they haven’t even come close to contending while codifying the most enduring of football truths.

Minnesota's invested a lot of capital in their lines. The monster deal for Steve Hutchinson. The sizable Pat Williams contract. The blockbuster trade for Jared Allen. But that's simply one way... they've also drafted well, Bryant McKinnie and Kevin Williams this decade, and maximized production from their support.

Green Bay conversely has tried to build a scheme not a line. Based on the zone blocking teachings of Alex Gibbs, they've focused on smaller athletic linemen in the draft, jettisoning veterans earmarked for big contracts. The focus on simplicity and technique and speed puts a premium on linemen less regarded by other clubs.

There's a bargain shopping aspect to the whole approach. And, in the bounded world of the NFL salary cap, that's seductive.

The question the becomes, how many teams have ridden the zone scheme to great heights? Denver in the late 90s? Indianapolis a couple of Super Bowls ago?

Currently, the Texans are muddling through their implementation of it. Atlanta ditched the scheme the season prior. Denver and Indy still use zone blocking as their bread-and-butter on the ground. But consider two simultaneous facts. Both were quarterbacked to championships by two of the best to ever play the game. And both teams are more synonymous with playoff collapse than dynasty football despite the assembled talent at skill positions.

The Packers greatest running success has come when they've introduced gimmick into the scheme. Employing a two-fullback inverted wishbone, Green Bay plowed over Seattle in last year's playoffs on a slow snowy track for over 200 yards. Coach Mike McCarthy has thrown in pulling guards, a zone no-no, when the backside of the line has struggled to get off their first block into the second level.

And then, of course, there's been the utter atrocities like Sunday's game against Minnesota. Giving up four sacks and two safeties (proving to be critical points in a close game). And never letting Aaron Rodgers set his feet as inside pressure funneled him into the crashing ends at least once a drive.

When Green Bay faces these more physical teams, most wins are in spite of the line, rarely because of it. Looking at the teams lining up for the playoffs now - New York, Philly, Tampa Bay, Arizona - it seems more clear the road through the NFC will require matching physicality late in the season.

For Sunday's loss, a finger can be pointed at the Packers run defense. Frankly, Adrian Peterson is going to get his. The defense still forced Minnesota into critical mistakes and rode out the field position game, slowly flipping the field over the course of the contest.

More importantly, the game highlighted what any team with playoff aspirations must master first, brutality at the point of attack. I'm done with these schemes and paper lines. And, I suspect, the playoffs will be done with Green Bay until they realize this, too.

Phi Bloga Recapa, Week 11

Regular readers know that the biggest victory of the week nets a themed cake photo for the winning team in Phi Bloga Recapa. Whether it's Gators on blue frosting for Florida destroying Georgia. Or big double T's for Tech upsetting Texas... To the big victor goes the confectionery.

I must say, I'm a disappointed in this Iowa Hawkeyes cake. (And this is certainly the best one available to a severely cursory Google search.) The folks in the SEC and Big XII take their football themed cakes seriously. Unfettered yellow frosting. No distinguishing characteristics save the Hawkeye logo. Couldn't the hawk be attacking something? Maybe Coach Ferentz could make an appearance?

Iowa, however, may not need to sharpen up their cake decorating skills. After upsetting Penn State and clearing a path for a Big XII-SEC showdown in the BCS championship, the Hawkeyes should receive baked goods from all over the conferences to the south.

Here's a look at the biggest results and biggest reactions from Saturday's action:

Utah 13 TCU 10. JazzyUte at Block U says:

I don't know what to make of this season except Utah seems to always find a way to win. When all hope looked to be lost, Brian Johnson -- as he did last month -- marched Utah down field and scored in the final seconds.

This time, though, it was for the win.

Alabama 27 LSU 21. Al C Hemist from Eight In the Box says:

No win is ugly, but some are considerably less pretty than others. To me this was a beauty. The Tide got punched in the mouth, caught a few body blows from adversity, and wrestled with a big, physical, and fast football team. In the end we had enough piss and vinegar to win.

I don't know how much longer this magic carpet ride is going to last, but you've got to love these guys.

Iowa 24 Penn State 23. Happy Hour Valley says:

# Additionally, what was up with the execution? Not being able to pound the ball into the end zone on Iowa’s 2-yard line in 4 tries? Dropping easy catches? Clark looking Morell-ian with his passing game? Settling for field goals when all year long we’ve been picking up TDs in the red zone? THAT’s how we lost the fucking game folks, if just one, JUST ONE of those 3 FG’s ends up being a TD, we win this game. In the long run, FIELD GOALS DON’T DO JACK SHIT…Ask Wisconsin about their trip to Michigan earlier this year if you don’t believe me on that one.

# We had TWO FUCKING WEEKS to prepare for this game, and we came out looking flat and uninspired in what was our final road game before returning to the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium. Obviously, the coaching staff did not do a good enough job of reminding the players of the 1999 disaster and how you can’t waltz into a game this late in the year and NOT expect an opponent’s best shot.

Texas Tech 56 Oklahoma State 20. Couldn't find anything in the sports blogfrica worth posting... I assume Tech fans are still sleeping off last night's celebration. This win might be bigger than Texas in the sense that it validates the Texas win as not really an upset. Pretty impressive.

USC 17 Cal 3. Trojan Horse at Trojan Empire says:

Overall, Southern Cal’s defense has now giving up a national low of just 7 touchdowns in 9 games played. Even with the Trojans shooting themselves in the foot with overaggressive plays that led to penalties and extended drives, the Golden Bears could not cash in. The closer Cal moved to the red zone, the stiffer USC became. USC was penalized 10 times for 105 yards, including 2 penalties (roughing and pass interference) on the same drive that wiped out interceptions deep in their own territory. Even so, their opponent could manage nothing more than a kick between the uprights in 4 quarters of play. A telling tale of the defensive dominance and penalties that negated great play is Cal managing to total just 165 total yards, despite having 30:48 to 29:12 advantage in time of possession.

State of the League: Quick Studies

The NFL season is at its halftime. Not that there’s a big break for anyone save the four teams taking the season’s last bye: Cincinnati, Dallas, Tampa, and Washington.

Even though I’m skeptical that the entire NFL season represents a sufficient sample size to make sound deductions, eight games are enough to draw some conclusions and test a few theories.

So what is the State of the League at midseason? Part two takes a look at the big impact of the 2008 rookie class.

Today’s rookies are the league’s future. They are hope personified for teams and their fans.

But more and more, rookies are playing a greater role in the NFL’s present.

Whether by injury or by suspect talent, rookies are pressed into early service. And year in and year out the results are often mixed.

The NFL is an unforgiving world. And incoming rookies must jump headlong into this harsh reality, one more competitive and less supportive than college and high school, or face being out on the street and soon forgotten.

This year’s draft class projected to be solid if unspectacular outside a couple talents in Glenn Dorsey and Darren McFadden. Certainly, 2008 wasn’t as hyped as 2006. And 2007's surprising success provided a hard act to follow.

However, a big story of 2008 is the big contributions rookies are bringing to their teams. A draft class sporting only a few elite talents have already made waves and signaled greater things to come.

This youth riot, the impact of the youth movement, have hailed from all rounds in the draft. Third rounder Steve Slaton has finally provided a potent rushing threat for the Texans’ developing offense. Seventh rounder Chris Horton has made plays at safety, filling in some small way the void left by Sean Taylor’s tragic murder. Second rounder Matt Forte has made Chicagoans forget about the failure of Cedric Benson at running back.

Still, the first round, whose talent was questioned after the first few selections, have impressed from top to bottom. Jonathan Stewart running for Carolina, Ryan Clady blocking for Denver, and Joe Flacco quarterbacking for Baltimore have proven gems from the middle of the round.

Even proclaimed draft-day reaches, such as Atlanta’s tackle Sam Baker and Tennessee’s runner Chris Johnson have already established themselves as dynamic players.

Chris Long’s steady improvement, Sedrick Ellis’s chaotic run stuffing, and Jerod Mayo’s smooth sideline-to-sideline play have proven this draft isn’t just all offense either. Long, Ellis, and Mayo, all top ten picks, have made immediate impact on their respective teams of St. Louis, New Orleans, and New England.

Not every first rounder has played to potential. Vernon Gholston in New York and Derrick Harvey in Jacksonville were hoped to instant revive ailing pass rushes, but neither done such so far. Gosder Cherilus in Detroit and Duane Brown in Houston have struggled in transition to elite NFL blockers. Injuries have forced Cincinnati’s Keith Rivers and Pittsburgh’s Rashard Mendenhall out for the season.

But consider this. For two of the teams picking in this draft’s top three, their selections have already provided the lynchpin for dramatic turnarounds.

Miami’s number one overall selection of tackle Jake Long transformed what was a line versed in the “look-out block” (as in instead of blocking, warning their quarterback to “look out!”) into a real strength especially in the run game. Long’s run blocking is impressive, his pass blocking improving. Miami’s ridden an efficient passing game and a solid running game to a 4-4 record to this point.

Add that to Atlanta’s number three overall selection of quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan’s steady leadership and impressive arm are meshing nicely with the Falcons power running game. Unfazed by glare of the bright lights, Ryan plays like a veteran and has Atlanta at 5-3 just a game behind Tampa and Carolina in the NFC South.

And certainly the luster of the rookie class is buffed considerably by the play of its rookie starters at quarterback, Ryan and Joe Flacco.

Ryan's stat line is better than Flacco's. And Ryan's play is more decisive and mature as well. But Flacco's proven effective, accurate especially for a rookie, and has accounted for as many touchdowns (five throwing, two rushing) as interceptions. Again, not spectacular, but exceeding expectations at the game's most difficult position.

Most importantly, both quarterbacks have their teams at 5-3 with a shot at playoffs. That's in the "unthinkable" territory for rookie quarterbacking.

Compare that to their peers. JaMarcus Russell, last year's number one overall, is struggling to complete 50% of his passes on a limp Raiders squad. Or 2006's numbers three overall, Vince Young, and ten overall, Matt Leinart, are currently watching from sidelines as quarterbacks derided as washed up are leading their teams on playoff campaigns. Let's not even go back to 2005 and talk about Alex Smith...

History tells us that plenty of the players from this rookie class will come on in the years to come. And some of these stars shooting out of the gate will not deliver on this early promise. But considering the host of rookies already making it an impact, this class could join the last couple in creating a real high watermark of talent for the league in the next few years.

For right now, 2008 is proving to be a young man's game.

Jermichael Finley, Precious Snowflake

On a critical 4th and 1 play during last Sunday's key Green Bay-Tennessee match-up, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers dropped back and attempted a pass to rookie tight end Jermichael Finley. Finely released into the seam covered tightly by the Titans linebacker and didn't pull down the difficult catch thrown to his back shoulder.

The incomplete ended the Packers drive in Titans territory and contributed to Green Bay's close loss, 19-16 in overtime.

After the game Finley explained the critical incompletion, bravely admitting he wasn't at fault, magnanimously shifting the blame to his quarterback: Aaron Rodgers. Let's let Jermichael explain:

“I think he should have led me a little more, well a lot more. Really he didn’t throw it good at all, to be honest. He knows my game, coaches know my game. I’m more like a run and jump (receiver). I’m really not no back shoulder or whatever he had going on back there. They just have to know what kind of player I am and use me in that aspect of the game.”

In light of this admission, let's learn a little more about Jermichael*, a very special individual with very particular tastes.

On potato chip selection:

"I think ridges are for people who don't taste good at all, to be honest. Lays should know my game, I'm not really a french onion dip player."

On single-ply toilet paper:

"I need a little more cushioning back there, well a lot more, really. Single-ply isn't going to cut it, let's be honest. I'm not really a single-ply guy or whatever I've got going on back there. Charmin just needs to know what kind of player I am."

On soda choice:

"Pepsi know me, Coca-Cola know me. I'm really more of fountain soda mix it up kinda guy. I'm not no 20oz bottle of whatever they've got going on back there. I more like half Coke, half Mountain Dew, half Grape Soda... 7-11 just have to know what kind of player I am."

On his perfect date:

"I think she should pay a little more than half, well a lot more. Really I’m not bringing any money with me, to be honest."

On his order at McDonald's:

"I’m really more a 4-piece McNugget guy. I’m really not no 6-piece or 10-piece or whatever they deep fry back there. It really doesn’t taste good unless it come in a Happy Meal either. They just have to know that I like to play with the toy while I eat, that’s an important aspect of games for me."

There you have it, folks, Jermichael Finley, precious snowflake just trying to get by in this rough and tumble world of professional football.

*Subsequent quotes may be entirely made up.

Update: Finley expressed contrition after serious tongue lashings from Coach McCarthy and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin... so I'm willing to chalk this one up to youth and immaturity. Still, let's hope this rings as a lesson on how to go about your business in the league.

State of the League: The Other South

The NFL season is at its halftime. Not that there’s a big break for anyone save the four teams taking the season’s last bye: Cincinnati, Dallas, Tampa, and Washington.

Even though I’m skeptical that the entire NFL season represents a sufficient sample size to make sound deductions, eight games are enough to draw some conclusions and test a few theories.

So what is the State of the League at midseason? Part one examines the NFC South's emergence in 2008.

The NFC East is still the beast. But a big part of the NFC’s perceived resurgence is the NFC South. No team in the division is under .500 at the halfway point. And there’s a very likely possibility that the South steals a Wild Card spot away from the East in the NFC.

But is the South this good after being frustrating to mediocre the past couple of seasons?

Last year, the AFC South rose to prominence on the strength of its out of division play. The worst team, the Texans went a 1-5 in the division and 7-3 against the rest of its schedule. That alone underscored why the three other teams, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and Tennessee, all made the playoffs.

This year, the other South, the NFC South, is charging through its out of division schedule, a combined 16-7 against non-divisional opponents with an impressive 21-12 record overall.

But are teams of the South as good as the record indicates?

Perhaps not. For the most part, the South is dominating lesser divisions. This year, the South is playing through the NFC North and the AFC West. Only two of the teams in those two divisions have managed victory against the South: Denver and Minnesota.

Otherwise, the South hasn’t lost to NFC North leading Chicago, hardly a powerhouse, nor has it lost to bottom feeding Oakland and Kansas City in the AFC West.

The teams of the South have handily defeated their NFC West opponents. But that’s hardly a resounding argument for dominance given the persistent awfulness of that division.

Obviously, the division has improved, that’s not in doubt, but are they now an elite division? Well, how do they stack up against elite teams?

Telling is that in the three games Atlanta, New Orleans, and Tampa played against the NFC East, they’ve haven’t tallied a win. Assuming two NFC East teams make the playoffs, if not three, Whatever representatives the South send look to be in for a short postseason run.

The game is not played in aggregate, however. Carolina is still set to face New York in week 16 in the last regular season match-up between the South and East. Given Carolina’s relatively easy schedule up to that game – Detroit and Oakland make everyone strong – that game could be the most telling for how far the division has come in producing a champion.

As for the other three teams, Atlanta’s road is potentially the hardest. Managing a 5-3 record at midseason is already a feat worth commending. But they have yet to win a division game and are set to face the bulk of their divisional contests through the next eight. Plus, desperate Denver, Minnesota, and San Diego are all waiting down the queue, notably the Broncos and Vikings are both undefeated against the division thus far.

Tampa’s path is much more favorable. Clean up in the division, beat up on Oakland and Detroit, steal a game from Chicago, Minnesota, or San Diego, and the playoffs are almost assured. Running the table on the division might be hardest part. But they possess a big physical offensive line and a damn fine defense which could help them down the late stretch.

New Orleans currently in last place needs to play nearly flawless football. But their road I might like the most. They have to play road warriors, something they haven’t excelled at. But they’re coming off a big win in the biggest road game of the year, the trip to London. Plus, Drew Brees is playing this game in a different dimension, lightyears ahead of this peers. Winning out the division, stomping Kansas City, and nabbing two out three against the NFC North is do-able.

But any of those scenarios don’t prove the South is truly the measure of the league. The division has improved overall. Carolina is over its malaise on defense (not a moment too soon for Chris Harris’s budding career). Tampa’s playing as physically as it ever has along both the offensive and defensive fronts. New Orleans still boasts the most exciting offense in the conference if not the league. And Atlanta’s youth is a scary proposition for its opponents now and down the road.

Barring setback, 2008 could be a big step for the South. Next year, the entire division plays through the entire East. That will be the true test of how far the teams of the South have come.

Which Grand American Tradition?

Perhaps you are looking for a distraction today from the swirling politics. At a time like this I might say, you won't find it here. I can't. stop. flipping. out. (Read all about it at a Sporting Life.)

However, I'm sympathetic. So here comes a barely edited emotional response that may or may not be fleshed out later this week as Fuhbaw runs down the state of the league now officially at midseason.

Zac of Throwing Into Traffic tossed me a good question yesterday. I think he was looking for something a little less intense, but here's his question and my reply.

Q: Why is Favre a surefire Hall of Famer and Kurt Warner never even mentioned like that?

A: When Green Bay pulled off the biggest coup in free agent history, signing Reggie White to a lucrative contract that was a few million less than the other offers on his plate, Reggie believed that by building something in Green Bay he could make the country care deeply about what had been a football backwater for two decades, he could build a championship there.

Ron Wolf picked up Reggie from the tiny Austin Straubel Airport in a beat-up jeep and refused to ply White and his wife Sara with elaborate gifts, but rather show them the proximity of the team to its fans, show how the team, beyond just being important to, was the community.

What Wolf did was sell White on the idea of the Green Bay Packers. And during those mid-90s dominant teams, it was always Reggie's Packers. Sure, we loved Favre when he would throw one of those lead blocks like a fullback, but we all had some idea that he was an ass, a cocksure kid very at odds with our Midwestern love of humility and decency.

When Reggie retired and Favre kept plugging along, through good-to-great seasons, through piss-poor seasons, the team somehow became confused with Favre... that might've been okay had he not found some elixir providing "unnatural long life". Did he mature? Sure. But he also sent almost all our wide receivers to early graves, running their slants too tight into middle linebackers and strong safeties.

I don't remember the moment, honestly, when Brett became Favre. I pressed pause on the NFL in the early 00s because I couldn't stand to watch without being able to play, a development that surprised me greatly since I thought by consciously forgoing the partial scholarship/D-1AA/D-II route for academics that I had left the game on my own terms.

But when I started to tune in again, 2003-2004, there was suddenly this graying quarterback who seemed more like a parody of his former self. When did the crying start? I didn't remember that at all circa 99. And then the equivocating... then, with the loss of mobility, the ridiculous hopping throws (I swear, they used to be long scrambles).

I'm not saying I wasn't falling for it, but it was different and oddly less desperate in one way, and more desperate in another... somehow as he should have faded, he became less the player and more the idea.

I'm taking a long time to say this, I'm sorry, but I hope this doesn't sound too bitter, but he co-opted this unique identity of a unique team. The aesthetic marriage was there, we don't dominate, we don't ruthlessly beat down, it's wing and prayer type stuff. But nonetheless, Favre took this for his own...

I don't feel stridently about that, it was just the latest thing to be addicted to, a cult of personality instead of partying and vicodin. And the man is very charming... he worked it prolly without knowing he worked it.

So why does some hick who plays with reckless abandon and an oversized sense of his impact on the game qualify for legendary status? While a quarterback in Kurt Warner - who only does everything decent human beings should do when given their chance and the abilities to perform - barely scrapes the national conversation of good signal callers?

I think that mystique has a lot to do with it. This game has a weird relationship with numbers. They're occasionally so telling, they're occasionally worthless. The box score needs the narrative... and the narrative needs the box score (something I don't do a terribly good job with). But the proportion of the two is often out of whack.

Big Daddy Drew once tossed off a joke about Favre's derring-do... it's hilarious, it's so true. It's also more than a little ridiculous.

You can't underestimate that effect that Peyton Manning has had on quarterbacking, too. I think Steve McNair should be a Hall of Fame consideration, maybe not first ballot, but a serious consideration. But Peyton, in a continuum from Steve Young, has changed how the numbers game works for QBs. Unless you pile up rings, you've got to be eerily consistent in the stat columns...

You'd think that would help Warner, but the down years after the fiery brief success has to make some of the Hall's guardians uneasy... system QB who might now be a crafty veteran... consider his cast (Faulk, then Larry and Anquan, with nothing for nothing in the middle). I think it's bullshit, but that's what they'll say anyway.

Warner and Favre are interesting comparisons. They both have good stories. They both are cannons who throw a pick or two too many. They both have a Super Bowl and multiple MVPs.

But Warner left the crying to Dick Vermeil... as he was being shoved out a job earlier this offseason, he politely went about his business, prepared himself for doing his job as a backup... he didn't make himself a story. Who knows what he was really thinking, but he played it like a pro.

I'm alternately stung by and wary of the narrative. I feel like I would be laughed out of a Football Outsiders secret convention... and pelted by Keyshawn Johnson's uneaten salad. But if you look at both Favre and Warner on the field, they both move about it comfortably in their own skin. Is that greatness? Maybe.

Yeah, I'm for Warner, but he doesn't make grown men act like children... and that seems to be what hurts him.

(Exhale.)

Photo by Mark J. Rebilas (Flickr).

The Notebook, Week 9

I’m not going to say something like John Madden gets a bum rap or anything like that. He invites the digs at his expense. He can ramble at length while saying nothing whatsoever. He can confuse, or outright ignore, cause and effect.

But few people know more about the sport. And last night during the Patriots-Colts primetime game, he dropped a gem while talking about the defensive Cover 2 battle that was obviously frustrating his sense of the game’s possibilities .

“Matt Cassel will take what the defense gives him, Randy Moss will take what he wants.”

Boom, indeed.

Earlier in the day, on the CBS pregame show, Bill Cowher reveled his top 12 receivers in the league. Everyone loves lists, and the potential for outrage that goes along with them.

I have a hard time knocking Cowher’s choices for 1, 2, and 3. Andre Johnson was tops followed by Larry Fitzgerald and Brandon Marshall. In general, Cowher highlighted youth and recent production over historic production.

At least, that’s the only explanation for placing Randy Moss at 9 behind both Greg Jennings (7) and Santana Moss (6).

I love Greg Jennings. I consider him Green Bay’s best player. And Santana Moss is a playmaker, injecting every game with an element of unpredictability.

But Randy Moss is still a top five receiver in this league. I had my doubts while he languished in Oakland, but he proved me and many others wrong. Wes Welker is a fine football player, but Randy was the difference in that offense last year. And even though his production has dipped this year, he continues to buoy what could be a much worse offensive unit.

Try and recall a single Patriots highlight reel pre-Randy Moss that doesn’t end in a field goal… I dare you.

Moss changed the parameters of New England’s dink-and-dunk spread into a legitimate scoring force. That level of impact is rare.

But with Tom Brady’s injury, the sheen is off this New England squad and consequently Randy. His abilities are still there, but Matt Cassel can hardly make use of them against solid defenses.

And stumbling through the fat middle of a weakened AFC, Indianapolis is suffering from lost luster as well. The defense is maddeningly inconsistent and the offense cannot put up points like it once could.

A demonstration of how much the league has changed in one year? In previous years a mid-season Patriots-Colts match-up was almost assured of having homefield consequences for the playoffs.

This time around, both teams needed victory to simply keep pace in their divisions or, more basically, keep their playoff hopes alive.

Both teams down key playmakers forced a conservative defensive battle. The Colts rolled double coverage to Randy Moss most of the night and allowed Welker to catch 7 passes for only 37 yards.

Likewise, the Patriots kept the deep halves of the field from turning into Reggie Wayne’s playground and even made Dallas Clark’s life difficult in the middle seams.

But in a quarterback battle that rested efficiency and smart, quick decisions, Peyton Manning held the advantage over Matt Cassel without a doubt. Manning hit the underneath routes with precision when the Patriots loaded up to stuff the run or dropped into the deep zones. It wasn’t pretty but it was effective, like the game plan in Super Bowl 41 Peyton used to dismantle the Bears.

And the folly on New England’s side was trying to match wits with Manning in what is essentially his game. Cassel benefited from a solid running game, but checked off of Randy far too often. The offensive line didn’t dominate the Colts by any stretch, but there were deep plays to made.

In essence, from New England’s side, the game was put in the wrong pair of hands. I love the idea of the Colts defense, speed all around, discipline in the back seven, havoc in the front four. But they can be pushed around with aggressive tactics. The only really effective play New England ran consistently was the draw. It’s a textbook counter on the Tampa 2, but the Patriots weren’t able to pull up the safeties to exploit downfield and create respect for the vertical passing game.

Okay, it almost worked out for New England. Jabar Gafney dropping a sure touchdown on a sideline go pattern killed late momentum. Hard to fault Cassel for a well thrown ball.

But the play provided a glimpse into what the game could’ve been, the game that Madden wanted, the game that we needed to see in order to not be lulled to sleep by the AFC East tripping over itself in the coming weeks.

Madden’s selection of Adam Vinateri as the Player of the Game felt like a protest shot at the game’s careful, safe game plans. Sure Vinateri nailed a 52 yard field goal, a distance nearing the end of his range, for the winning points. But the Colts did score a couple of touchdowns and Peyton was effective finding Anthony Gonzalez and Reggie Wayne of the short rub plays and crossing routes. Plus, Bob Sanders played a nearly flawless if not otherworldly game, making key safety tackles and elevating for the game clinching interception.

I know the Patriots always seem to find ways to win. But I can’t help thinking more games like last night, in terms of the attack, don’t bode well for their January prospects. I like Buffalo despite their recent slide. And parts of the Jets are in place – Kris Jenkins and Leon Washington especially – should Brett Favre play half as well as he did mid-season last year.

On the other side, the Colts are by no means goners. But I wonder how far they can go being stuck in their ways. They’ve made an art of coaxing wild results – big points, timely sacks, late killer mistakes – from very odd but consistent systems. Receivers statuesque during the presnap, simple zone coverages, two or three basic running plays. They’ve always managed an interesting balance of discipline and freelance.

This year, however, Peyton can be put off his game. There was a time where New England, Pittsburgh, and occassionally Baltimore were the only teams capable of knocking him off his stride. Now, he’s found his game against those rivals – at least we’ll find out next week how he fairs against Pittsburgh – yet struggles against the Titans, Jaguars, and of all teams the Packers.

Perhaps my concern boils down to this, in learning to win ugly, has Peyton forgotten how to win sublimely? And, in New England, despite having the weapons to open up, will the lack of Brady continue to force the Patriots to old habits… is not so much that these two recent powers have suffered setbacks, rather that they’ve refuse to acknowledge just how far they’ve come.

Phi Bloga Recapa, Week 10

Running late today so very very brief intro to the Recapa. The Tech upset was of course awesome last night. Tech played a hell of a game and were as lucky as they were good, especially with some ill-timed Longhorn drops.

While my general M.O. is to root for the underdog in college football, and it felt right to egg on Mike Leach and his Red Raiders, I was a little conflicted. Often times, I'm not thinking too far down the road, but I was really hoping the BCS Championship game would be an SEC-Big XII showdown, just because of the strength of the two conferences. Pair that with an entertaining USC-Penn State Rose Bowl, well, that's a hell of an early January.

So it was hard to watch a very talented Texas team fall. Their defense was generally fantastic, but couldn't stop Michael Crabtree when it counted... but that's not really a valid criticism, has anyone yet stopped Crabtree?

Big congrats to Tech, who completely set the tone of the game and hung on through a wild finish. But now, the big picture is back up for grabs. I imagine Happy Valley is writing tributes to Mike Leach right about now.

Onto reactions on Saturday's action from around sports blogfrica.

Florida 49 Georgia 10. Doug at Hey Jenny Slater says:

Anyway, I could do my usual postgame analysis of everything that happened, pointing out that Georgia actually finished with more total yards than Florida and was the victim of two egregiously bad missed holding calls by the refs -- one on the Joe Haden interception, the other on Louis Murphy's touchdown catch -- and without those, Matt Stafford might not have been throwing the desperate interceptions that allowed Florida to bend us over for nearly the entire second half, but I'll be blunt: I don't fuckin' feel like it. So instead, all I'll say is congratulations, Gators, you gave us the come-uppance you'd been itchin' to give us ever since the Celebration last year. The best we can hope for now, I'd imagine, is probably a chance to thrash Ohio State up and down the field in the (whee!) Capital One Bowl.

Georgia Tech 31 Florida State 28. FSUncensored at Tomahawk Nation says:

I don't put this loss on Marcus Simms.

I put this loss on Mickey Andrews.

In a game that the defense was being counted on to carry the day, they were no-existent. Bad assignment football, strange formations with the 2 DT's, and poor angles meant 8.2 yards per play. In the back of every knowledgeable FSU fan's mind, we knew there was a chance that the defense could lay an egg against a team of this design. I dismissed that, telling myself that was silly, that Mickey wouldn't prepare these guys in a way that would allow such egg-laying, and that playing a running QB for the 3rd consecutive week would increase our familiarity. I was so very very wrong.

I like Mickey Andrews a lot. He is a good guy by all accounts, and has been excellent over the course of his career. Everybody can have a bad game. Let's consider this his bad game.

USC 56 Washington 0. Trojan Horse at Trojan Empire says:

On an afternoon beneath cloud covered skies, points came raining down on the Washington Huskies, and they failed to respond with any of their own. Everyone knew what kind of game this was going to be. We could have photoshopped white jerseys and gold helmets on the Washington State Cougars, and just have Washington deliver the tape, instead of sending a team. We got an up close and personal look at the misery of Ty Willingham and the Huskies football program. They were dominated in every aspect of the game, offensively, defensively, and special teams. Even a couple of second half drives against the lower depth of the SC defense ended with interceptions to kill the drive and preserve a Trojans shutout. It's now the 3rd recorded shutout in USC's last 4 games, with Arizona's 10 points representing the only blemish to the nation's top ranked defense.

Texas Tech 39 Texas 33. Chris Applewhite at Barking Carnival says:

Lesson Two: It’s hard to beat 4 good teams in a row.

We rose against OU, peaked against Missouri, and have fallen since. The bad game was bound to happen at some point. I was hoping it was against OSU. It wasn’t.

Tech game out guns blazing, we came out like a shy, ugly debutante. I guess it’s harder than it seems to play at your peak for a solid month.

You know what? We’re 8-1 in a season where had 3-4 freshmen DBs on the field against OU, Missouri, OSU and Texas Tech. It’ll happen. Blake Gideon is off my Christmas card list, though.