IT’S A REVERSE!
really have no intro this week. It’s just not coming.
Bulls Win, Bulls Win, Bulls Win
The Bulls won a game. From behind no less. USF can be frustrating at times. One week they fall to a team that had won once in two years. Then they go on the road and win 45-20. I don’t get it. But that running back, Hall, is something else. Expect to see him on Sundays one day.
Hits From The Bong
Ricky Williams is actually proceding with his quest to re-enter the NFL.
Running Up The (SAT) Score
SOS ain’t coming back, oh well. As much as I’d have loved to see him come back, it probably wasn’t the best thing for anybody. Though Zookie is trying his best to screw up the season. He sure got the lads fired up for Vandy. Giving up 17 points so early to a team that probably shouldn’t be playing I-A ball, cripes. Just two more (hopefully) games left in the sorry tenure of the Zooker.
Hurricane Bowden
Who’d have thought that Bobby would be the Bowden this year with the L to the ‘Canes? How about some irony as a result of this little losing streak. Stewart Mandel over at SI.com has predicted the bowl match-ups to expect. He currently has FSU going to the Gator Bowl (of all places) and The Official College Football Team Of TALB headed to the Peach Bowl to face the mighty Hurricanes. So, let’s theorize a little. Let’s say, contrary to what I wrote above, that the Gators win out against South Carolina and FSU, and Mandel’s prediction holds true. The Gators could then be playing for the mythical Florida Championship. And knowing the Jekyll & Hyde mentality of Zook’s Gator teams, they’ll probably win.
Chop This
Offense, Defense, Special Teams; all played quite well this week. That strip of Kennison by Smith was a thing of beauty. That needs to go on some kind of film reel about “Hustle”. And the “Mobile QB = Good Thing” show keeps on rolling (har har). How do you not stop three bootleg passes on the same drive? Some good news? The Falcons’ defense is rated even lower than the Chiefs’. Though the Falcons’ weakness lies in the passing game, statistically.
Tiger Pittman, Tiger Mike Pittman
As I sweated out another week of “What’s Corey Dillon’s Injury Status” Michael Pittman found his way back into my starting Fantasy line-up. Sure, I was relieved to see him score that first touchdown. But that long run for the score had me on my feet. And not just because the Bucs were about to score. I racked up 90 points this week. But missed out on the optimal 98 by having Rudi Johnson in instead of Dillon. I’m not listening to anyone anymore and Corey is starting alongside Pittman.
Here’s The Love
Alan Grant over at ESPN wonders why so many people are giving Jerry Rice a hard time over his continued existence in the NFL. I can tell you why I think Rice should get on with it and retire, and it’s all laid out in the article. “When Rice views the landscape of NFL players, he sees only himself. And why wouldn’t he? He’s the all-time leader in every category that pertains to wide outs. There is no one else close enough even to challenge.” That he keeps going shows me that he has no respect for the game. At this point he is padding his stats. Making sure that it will be fifty years before his name has a “2.” next to it in the record books. An aside, I think Emmit Smith is in the same boat. Jerry Rice is going to the Hall of Fame. Jerry Rice is going to be remembered by football fans for decades to come. Rice’s legacy is set. Well it was set. Then he decided that he needed one more team on his resume. I don’t fault the Seahawks for picking him up. If I’m a GM and Jerry Rice wants to play for me, I’ll take him. But when he asks (or more likely demands) that we unretire the number of one of the franchise’s most beloved and greatest players I have to say “Jerry, let’s talk”. And it’s not as if Steve Largent was just some guy who played well for a bad team. He’s got the paper to backup a claim of being one of the better wide outs in NFL history. Come on Jerry, respect the game and figure out that in 20 years people will remember you for what you did as a 49er and if you have to wear 81 for a season or two, then man up and wear 81 son.
Vote Or Die
Puff Diddy isn’t likely to threaten your well-being over this, but voting is now in progress for the 2005 NFL Pro Bowl. Fan balloting counts for one-third (in aggregate) toward determining who gets the option of declining, for injury reasons of course, to appear in Hawaii.
Cash Money
Fox and CBS just extended their TV contracts with the NFL. In what appears to be the top highlight of the new deal, during the final seven weeks of the season the league can move a game from Sunday afternoon and move it to Monday Night Football in order to have a more attractive prime-time match-up. Also, the league wants all games to be in HD in the near future. And Sunday Ticket on DirecTV has been extended through 2010.
Running Items
WTF?
The San Diego Chargers are 6-3. The Carolina Panthers are 1-7.
Breath Of A Salesman
Toyota is running a great set of spots for the Tacoma. Funny, but not roll on the floor funny. “For just the price of three soy mocha lattes a day…” Great stuff.
Also, as a few others have noted, that Brenston Bucker commercial has got to be the scariest thing ever. Kissing your shoes? Please.
And finally (wow, a lot this week), those fake show commercials for the NFL Network are great. “Big Man Dance-Off” and now this week we had “Space Raiders”.
Oh Ricky
The continuing travails of the Dolphins and Ricky Williams has claimed another today. Dave Wannstedt has resigned as coach of the Dolphins. This of course clears the way for SOS to take the job as has been rumored for the last couple of weeks.
Reverse Watch
As has been noted by many football writers, TV announcers love to scream “REVERSE!” anytime a receiver is handed the ball. Ladies and gentlemen, when this occurs the play is simply called an “End Around”. To be a true reverse, the ball must actually reverse direction. Hence the name. And don’t get me started about “IT’S A DOUBLE REVERSE!” This running item will attempt to pick out such poor announcing and bring it to the attention of both of our readers.
This weekend, the Larry Vittel, normally a great announcer for the Gators, incorrectly called two (if I remember correctly) end-arounds as “REVERSE!”. And the top notch team from CBS got it wrong once or twice themselves during the Bucs-Chiefs collision.
Super Bowl XXXIX
Steelers vs. Eagles
(You know, it pains me to have to put the Eagles up there. But no one in the NFC seems to want to take control. Heck, at this point even the Bucs still have a shot. I even toyed with the idea of putting them in there, but decided not to. Didn’t want to jinx anything.)
Next week: Pro and college Cock fights
