Tuesday Afternoon Linebacker

The first week of the college football season saw a slew of upsets, the debut of the new Florida Gators, and the opening salvos of the new ACC. TALB caught the middle part of the the FSU-Miami game in beautiful high-definition. It’s the only way to watch football. 2005 is looking to be the breakout year for HD football as nearly every NFL game and many of the high-profile college games will be carried in the crisp digital format.

Progress
The Florida debut of Urban Meyer’s spread option offense was mixed. The early going was slow as the players got their first taste of full speed action. Plus, the Wyoming Cowboys had seen it in action before, so they knew what to expect, to a point. Once things got on track of course, the superior athletes made the difference. At halftime, TTNHBC was not very happy with the overall performance of the team. Which TALB thinks is a good attitude to have. This is a team that has lacked discipline and had been praised for adequate (or less) efforts over the past three seasons. And to put it into perspective, the Gators very likely should have won by a larger margin. I’m glad the coach was willing to go on record with his thoughts. The Gator’s defense displayed something we Bucs fans are familiar with, bend but don’t break. There were a few times when Wyoming was able to get a few long gains, but they could rarely make any progress into the red zone.

We’ll know more about what this team is made of after next week’s match with Louisiana Tech. And then the big SEC opener versus Tennessee at The Swamp.

Julmissed
USF was manhandled by the Penn State Nittnay Lions. From what I saw, they might have had a chance had theoretical quarterback Pat Julmiste not been on the field. Time and time again, he missed open receivers. Or alternately, he’d find the open man and then screw up the actual pass (too long, short, hard, or slow). But that didn’t stop the Times from heaping a bit of praise upon the young man.

10-7
Monday night’s ACC opening collision between Florida State and Miami proves that this game is best played in the third or fourth week of the season. Both teams were rusty and had trouble with their new starting quarterbacks. In the end, it came down to kicking, but this time Miami came up short. The hated Noles defeated the hated Canes 10-7. Hey, Bobby Bowden is now 1-1 on the field named for him.

About Damn Time
Jerry Rice has finally decided to let his career come to an end. TALB had noted in the past that Rice’s continued presence on NFL rosters was an embarrassment to him, the league, and his legacy. TALB applauds the greatest receiver of all time for riding off into the sunset, the 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, and a broadcasting career.

Cranky
Oklahoma, Miami, Texas A&M, Auburn, Boise State, and Pittsburgh. These are the six top twenty-five teams that lost on the opening weekend of the college season. Virginia Tech and Tennessee tried their darndest to join them. This is what college football reporters live for, the proverbial “Upset Saturday”.

WinnAr!!111one
Last week I promised you an NFL preview. TALB is not going to attempt to break-down all 32 teams in order to provide a comprehensive preview. Instead, TALB will divide the teams into three categories; Good, Mediocre, and Bad.
The Good
Patriots
Falcons
Eagles
Colts
Chargers
Vikings
Chiefs
Steelers
Jaguars

The Mediocre
Bucs
Cardinals
Lions
Packers
Raiders
Jets
Broncos
Titans
Seahawks
Rams
Ravens
Bengals
Panthers

The Bad
Bears
Dolphins
Saints
Texans
Bills
Browns
Cowboys
Redskins
49ers
Giants

And there you have it. What the vast TALB computer ranking super-computer was able to discern about the upcoming NFL season. Happy wagering.

There’s A MasterCard Commercial In Here Somewhere
Peerless Price, once thought to be the last piece of the puzzle for Atlanta’s offense, was released by the Falcons last week. He then found a spot on the Cowboys’ roster.

TALB Is Famous
Well sort of. As mentioned in last week’s edition, I submitted a response to “The Answer Man” over at Buccaneers.com about the Bucs’ biggest rival. The Man didn’t quote me in my wordy entirety, but he did print my conclusion.

Running Items
Reverse Watch
Brent Musberger got one right for a change. In the second half of the FSU-Miami collision Xavier Lee ran the option to his left. As he was about to turn the corner he pitched to the running back, who reversed field for a short gain. The ball did reverse field, so I guess it was the right call. FSU helped him out on the very next play by running a more traditional reverse.

Worst. Call. Ever.
The officials “working” the Auburn-Georgia Tech were terrible. On more than one occasion, they let plays run after dead-ball fouls had been called. Exposing the players to unnecessary risk of injury. Their control of the game otherwise was also inconsistent.

Next Week: Fun with Fantasies, the first week of NFL action, and probably not much else.