Tuesday Afternoon Linebacker

The college football season’s end is nigh. The bowls have been filled. From Lafayette to Pasadena, from December 20th through January 4th, what passes for a post season in Division I-A college football will fill our screens and maybe even push poker aside on ESPN2. Our hometown helmet heads won a game they were supposed to win, which is a nice reversal from the last couple of seasons, and are solidly in the playoff hunt. And surprisingly, the football team from that girls’ school won their conference championship.

Red Stick
The NFL’s official GameBook on the Bucs-Saints collision lists just over 34,000 in attendance. I doubt that. The people of New Orleans have a lot of other things on their minds right now and a trip up to Baton Rouge is probably not high on their list of priorities. But let’s not fake the numbers here. If you watched the game you can see that the game was sparsely attended. Including in the missing was The Commish; Joe Horn was unavailable for comment.

But, on to the game. Buc Ball, circa 1999 has returned; for a game at least. Running the ball, no offense to speak of, and a hawking defense earned the Bucs their eighth win of the season and sole possession of second place in the NFC South. Simms the Younger was again efficient if not spectacular in his performance; not committing a costly error at any point in the game. Cadillac ran for nearly 100 yards in a sterling effort.

But the game ball has to go to RonTiki and his three pick outing.

Now, if only the Bucs can get their act together for the stretch run. The upcoming schedule shakes out like this, at Carolina, at New England, Atlanta, New Orleans. I think that we need to win at least two to make the playoffs. Three would be nice. But two should do it. Though, if we can defeat the Panthers, the Bucs would probably need to win out in order to secure the division title.

The final two contests are winnable by this team. Of that I have no doubt. It’s the next two that have me worried. If we lose to Carolina, that pretty much hands them the division. Which in some respects takes some pressure off the Pewter Pirates. Then there’s the trip to Foxboro. If the weather goes our way, the Patriots are beatable. Though with the increased reliance on the running game, snow and cold might not be that big of a deal for us.

On second thought. If the Bucs want to win the division, they have to go 4-0 to finish 12-4 and then hope for a tie breaker with the Panthers.

Not Leavitt-ing
With the rumors of Jim Leavitt being considered for the opening at Kansas State, USF made good by Jim Leavitt. Awarding him with a 7-year, $7 million contract. Good work Bulls.

Not So Fast My Friend
Maybe the players had a big party to celebrate Leavitt’s extension or something, as they were flattened by the West Virginia Mountaineers over the weekend. The loss however did not leave them out of the bowl picture. As you are probably well aware of by now, the Bulls will be headed to Charlotte on New Year’s Eve to face the North Carolina State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. You can catch the game on The Deuce at 11 AM (yeah, it’ll be an early start to a long day).

No Rules, Just Hawkeyes
The Gators backed into the “New Year’s Day” Outback Bowl (to be played on 1/2 because of the NFL, more below) on the strength of their win against ACC Champion Florida State, their hard fought win over SEC Champion Georgia, and the piss poor performance of LSU against those same Bulldogs. This edition of the Outback is a rematch of the 2004 contest which might just have been the second worst outing the Gators have ever had in a bowl game (that Fiesta Bowl was the worst). Last time around, the Iowa Hawkeyes pasted the Zookered Gators 37-17, and it wasn’t even that close really. This time around, things should be different. The Gators have an offense that can, when it feels like it, move the ball on anyone; and a defense that can stop just about anything. The Hawkeyes come in ranked 25th to the Gators 16th spot.

Oh Johnny Boy
What is going on with our beloved John Lynch lately? How many times since he’s joined the Broncos has he been penalized or fined for a hit? Well, according to TFA, he put together just over $80,000 in fines last year alone. I don’t remember him ever getting fined while here in Tampa. Is he hitting harder? Is he under more scrutiny in Denver? Is he playing harder to prove a point? What’s the deal John?

BCS: The Tweakening
The Big East is the thorn in the side of the BCS now that Virginia Tech and Miami have defected to the ACC. Last year Pittsburgh was sent to the Fiesta as the league’s champion. This year, USF almost made it as well. The powers that be within the BCS sighed in relief when USF fell to UConn last weekend, and a 10-1 West Virginia team will be invited instead.

How can the BCS save face? Change the rules, as they seem to do every year, in favor of their preferred match-ups. Insist that any champion from a BCS conference be ranked among the top-10 or top-15 in the BCS standings. This way the membership is maintained, no one has to lose face, and it ensures top tier match-ups in the BCS bowls.

Dr. ZZZZZZZ
Paul Zimmerman, also known as Dr. Z, over at SI has been ranting and raving about crowd noise at sporting events since he was a young lad. So it’s been going on for about 600 years. His latest screed on the topic should have led him to the inevitable conclusion that no one else really cares but him. The NFL doesn’t care. Players don’t care. Coaches don’t care. The NCAA doesn’t care. In fact, all of those groups encourage the crowd to be noisy. This is part of home field advantage Mr. Zimmerman. If, as he would wish, each contest was only about what goes on between the lines then the games would be played in venues with no stands. There would be no going to the game or anything like that. We’d all have to watch on TV. Also, the players and coaches would be sequestered during the season and couldn’t’ speak to anyone; including the media. And then how would the good Doctor earn his living? How would he have a voice to continue railing against these vast injustices in the game of football? Doc, go hang out with Beano Cook and reminisce about the 1960’s some more and let the rest of us know when you’ve caught up. Hell, just let us know when it has become 1995 in your world.

Perfection
There is a lot of talk right now about the Colts and their chances to go undefeated. The columnists seem to think the Colts should go for it and finish the regular season 16-0 should the opportunity present itself. I think they’re full of crap. TALB knows that all that will matter in ten year is if they won the Super Bowl or not. I know that both Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning are students of the game. They know all about history and what it takes to make history. Super Bowl championships make history. Yes, 16-0 will be remembered. But without a ring, it will be remembered with a huge asterisk.

And what’s worse is that these talking-heads lay out all the reasons that the Colts should lay off toward the end of the season, but still insist they should go for the perfect record. As I’ve said before when talking about history, ask the Bills about the subject. Winning four consecutive AFC championships is a feat to be sure. But how many of those players and coaches would trade in two or three of those AFC titles for just one Super Bowl victory? Probably every single one of them. Why does Trent Dilfer still have a job in this league? Because he has a ring, that’s why.

And so, TALB will fully support the Colts if they decide to rest their starters after they’ve wrapped up home-field. It is the right thing to do for their team.

BMOC - Bowl Edition
In other bowl news, the BCS field has been set and state teams have been slotted.
Rose (1/4) - USC vs. Texas
Orange (1/3) - Penn State vs. FSU
Sugar (1/2) - Georgia vs. West Virginia
Fiesta (1/2) - Notre Dame vs. Ohio State

Peach Bowl (12/30) - Miami vs. LSU
Hawaii Bowl (12/24) - UCF vs. Nevada

Our friends at Sports Illustrated have laid out the entire schedule for your viewing pleasure.

NFL Playoff Outlook
After this week’s action, TALB will take a look at the playoff picture and see where teams stand.
NFC - Locks
Carolina, Chicago, Seattle
The Panthers returned to form by throttling the Falcons and very likely wrapping up the NFC South. Only an undefeated surge by the Bucs could threaten that outcome. The Bears have the North on lock as do the Seahawks out West. Those same Seahawks woodshedded the drifting Eagles 42-0 last night.

NFC - Likely
Tampa Bay, Dallas, New York Giants, Atlanta
By virtue of victories over the Falcons and Vikings, the Bucs are looking pretty good for at least a wild card spot. A key will be to finish strong and another win against the Vicks. Conversely, the Dirty Birds must find a way to beat the Bucs and Panthers down the stretch if they want to see the post-season. The Giants and Boys are fighting for the NFC East title, with the Giants currently in the lead. Whoever looses that battle may be left out of the playoffs.

NFC - Maybe
Minnesota
This recent surge under the guidance of Brad Johnson has the Vikings back in the hunt. But again, early losses to the Bucs and Falcons could spell doom for their hopes.

NFC - Not So Much
Washington, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Arizona, San Francisco, Detroit, Green Bay, and New Orleans
Underachievers the lot of them. With the exception of 6-6 Washington, no team here has any shot at the playoffs even if they are still mathematically alive.

1. Seahawks
2. Panthers
3. Bears
4. Giants/Cowboys
5. Bucs
6. Cowboys/Giants

AFC - Locks
Indianapolis, Cincinnati, New England
What else needs to be said of the Colts at this point? The Bengals pretty much put the North in their pocket by handling the Steelers. Even with Miami rallying to beat the Bills, the Patriots are 2.5 games up on the Fish in the division.

AFC - Likely
Denver, Kansas City, San Diego, Jacksonville
With KC beating the Broncos on Sunday, the AFC West is now wide open. The Broncos have just a one game lead on the Chiefs and Chargers. Which of these teams makes the run to the division title? Which take a wild card? Which gets left out? Denver, with the game up, seems to have the inside track. They face the Ravens, Bills, and Raiders over the next three weeks before a season ending tilt against the Chargers. While the Chargers face Miami this coming week before going to Indy, and then finishing up against both the Chiefs and Broncos. Finally, the Chiefs have to go on the road against both the Giants and Cowboys (both also fighting for playoff spots) ahead of their home game against the Bolts and the finale against the (probably by then) NFC North champion Bengals.
Jacksonville is making some quiet progress behind the Colts juggernaut. Expect the Jags to make the tournament.

AFC - Maybe
Pittsburgh
The Steelers still have a shot. But with the other teams above holding one and two game leads over them and their poor performance of late, they are probably out of the picture. With the Bears and Vikings up next, we’ll see what they are made of.

AFC - Not So Much
Miami, New York Jets, Oakland, Baltimore, Cleveland, Tennessee, Houston
Miami, if not for the big three-way in the AFC West, might have had a far outside chance. But since there is that log-jam of Broncos-Chiefs-Chargers, I don’t think they have any real shot. Plus, they are 3 or 4 games back of the other WC contenders and their conference and division records show that they probably don’t hold any tie-breakers over anyone. The rest are just playing out the season right now.

1. Colts
2. Bengals/Broncos
3. Broncos/Bengals
4. Patriots
5. Jaguars
6. Chargers/Chiefs

Update: As I finished penning this section I tuned into CNNSI and found Peter King’s latest installment of MMQB features a similar look at the playoff picture thus far. And his seedings pretty much match those of yours truly. Which means that either King is just as much a hack as I am, or I just might know what I’m talking about, or figuring this out right now isn’t that hard. I’m going with option three.

Baby New Year
How often does a particular date fall on a particular day of the week, every 11 years or something? I couldn’t find an answer to that question, but it’s not all that often that January 1st will fall on a Sunday. So why can’t the NFL step aside during these years? Play the full schedule on New Year’s Eve and let the college kids play on their day, New Year’s Day. True, this is generally the final game of the NFL season and it would mean a short week. And teams in the thick of the playoff hunt might not be happy about that. But everyone will be playing on a short week, so there is no disadvantage to anyone. Why does this make sense? Or why does it not?

Update: They’ve moved almost the entire schedule from Christmas day to Christmas Eve this year.

Running Items
WTF?
Punchless and listing, the Florida State Seminoles managed to defeat the surging Virginia Tech Hokies to win the inaugural ACC Championship game and the BCS berth that goes with it. With the win, the Noles ensured that a team from Florida would once again play in the BCS, for whatever that’s worth.

Historical note: Since the inception of the “Coalition/Alliance/BCS” rigmarole, only last year’s Bowl season did not feature at least one of Florida’s Big Three programs.

Seriously, WTF?
With all other problems solved, Congress to hold hearings on the BCS and the Mythical National Championship. Representative Barton calls the system “deeply flawed”, really? Good to see that our legislators are as in touch with college football as they are with most other topics in the real world.

Breath Of A Salesman
The Mercury Milan comes equipped with a force field it would seem. The folks over at Mercury think pretty highly of their new vehicle, at least according to the commercial. Also, you can play a flash game with the Milan, it allows you to set the same traps as in the ad.

Worst. Call. Ever.
I meant to do this a couple weeks ago…

This five & one looks an awful lot like five-dash-two. with Gruden’s playcalling, stubbornness, and lack of faith (not to mention his inability to tell the truth), don’t be surprised if the Bucs end up six and ten….

you heard it here first.

That’s a comment from Tampa’s bestest blogger, Tommy. How’s that working out for ya buddy? (Just giving you a hard time man).

Rose Bowl
Set: USC vs. Texas
Pick, for whatever that’s worth, coming soon.

Super Bowl XL
Colts vs. Seattle

I really have no idea who in the NFC is going to emerge. No one, aside from maybe Carolina, is playing shut-down football right now. But even they have had trouble here and there.