Tuesday Afternoon Linebacker

hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday and a wonderful football weekend. The Gators won and the Bucs lost a close one. On Thanksgiving, the Lions were crushed as expected. While the Cowboys and Broncos gave us an extra helping in the late game. The TALB is kind of short this week, sorry about that.

HA-HA, You’re Unranked
The Evil Empire has once again been vanquished. The Noles were harried and hurried all game. Never finding the end zone until the outcome had already been determined. And with the latest polls after the weekend’s action, FSU stands unranked. What more can a Gator fan ask for?

The game was a pleasure to watch, mostly. The hybrid spread-option worked its way down the field time after time, hardly facing resistance. On the other side, the Noles had trouble moving more than a few yards at a time against the resurgent Gators’ defense. Drew Weatherford looked just plain silly back there. The Noles were unable to get anything going until the final minutes. But by then the Gators were fully in control and probably beginning the celebration.

FSU appeared to be ill prepared to play the game. They looked confused most of the time. And Bobby went to his headset pretty early this time around. Following the game, Bobby started to deflect criticism from his son and offensive co-ordinator. And he does have a point that Jeff Bowden is not to blame for this loss. But it is clear that the Noles’ offense over the last couple of years has been their weakness. If they want to get back to championship form, then the Saint needs to make a tough choice. But then again, TALB doesn’t mind if Jeff Bowden were to succeed his father upon retirement.

For all of the fanfare surrounding the defeat of the Big Three, TALB just wishes we had taken care of one of the little guys too. Alabama proved to be a paper tiger, and we should have defeated them handily. And there was just no excuse for losing to South Carolina.

Like A Unicorn
Even more mythical than the National Championship is the state of Florida championship. Since the various teams do not all play each other, one cannot make an accurate determination which of Florida’s many accomplished football concerns reigns supreme. But something like that has never stopped TALB in the past. Especially when it favors one of my own teams. See, if you subscribe to the notion that Florida, FSU, and Miami represent the top three teams in the state, AND accept that if A beats B, and C beats A, then C would beat B; then the Florida Gators are the 2005 State of Florida Champions. Woot! Or something.

The NFC Norris Rides Again
Yes, the Bucs fell by a slim margin to the Bears. But the game wasn’t all bad. It was a defensive show to be sure. The obvious highlight, for the bad guys at least, being the forced fumble that led to their lone touchdown. And what’s really getting to me is that all of the talking heads are gushing over the Bears’ defense while it was the Bucs squad that had the better day; at least if you look at the game as a whole. It’s a lot harder to stop a team from one yard out after a turnover than it is to stop them from driving down the field. And the Bucs’ D was not able to stop the Bears at the 1, while the Bears D let the Bucs down the field twice allowing one touchdown and nearly allowing the tying field goal attempt. And the statistics support that conclusion.

On offense, Caddy ran well and Galloway was a monster down field. Much to my surprise, the offense is running pretty good under the direction of Simms The Younger. Even if he was raised in a laissez-faire household. Anyway, this loss isn’t nearly as bad as the three previous defeats. The team played well for the most part. It was just a case of two good teams playing a great game. Unfortunately, the Bucs came out on the short end.

Now comes the hard part. A three game road trip. A trip where the Bucs need to win, probably, twice. Against the Saints, it can be done. The Panthers and Patriots? That’s another story. The next three weeks are will make or break this season.

TALB As Seer
I told you so, didn’t I? Didn’t I? McNabb has succumb to the Madden cover jinx and the Eagles appear destined to follow in the footsteps of the Falcons, Titans, Giants, Rams, Raiders, and Panthers as Super Bowl losers who fail to make the playoffs the following season. As always, Philly Sucks.

PhillySucks.com now features t-shirts, a blog, and a forum. Huzzah! “You Can’t Spell Tool without ‘TO’”, indeed.

Mooched
The Lions showed Steve Mariucci the door Monday. Elevating the vaunted Dick Jauron to interim head coach. Mooch now becomes the latest scapegoat for Matt Millen’s poor management of the Lions. The core is there in the motor city to win games. But Millen has been running this organization as if it were his own personal fantasy team. Maybe the Fords should show Millen the exit and give someone else a shot at running the team.

Running Items
WTF?
Before the Bucs-Bears collision, Tampa Police busted a mobile strip club that was providing lap dances and liquor. The proprietors of the club actually admitted to running the club before four previous games.

Worst. Call. Ever.
The late-hit call against Jeremy Mincy early on was, in TALB’s opinion, squarely the fault of the officiating crew. I’ve touched on this before. College officials need to do a better job stopping plays after dead-ball fouls. The referee was just standing there watching it all happen, hands on his knees. Not once did he raise up, as if to stop the play. Come on fellas, get in the game.

Rose Bowl
Texas vs. USC

Super Bowl XL
Colts vs…..
Bears? Panthers? Bucs? Seahawks? Cowboys? Just like last year, who wants to win the NFC? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?