Winless
After watching the Bucs fall Sunday evening, and drop my personal rooting interests to a combined 0-4 for the weekend, I had decided to just scrap the TALB for this week. I was pissed off all the way around. But then I started thinking about the games, and a post started to form. And besides, I have a duty to my reader to do this every week so he’ll have something to read.
Bush League
Hey Mark Richt, ever scored a touchdown before? I guess not given that you wanted your team to get a personal foul after that first score. In rivalries you don’t give your opponent anything to use as motivation. And while it didn’t spur on the Gators to victory Saturday, you can bet that a picture of the Bulldogs massed in the end zone will be on the walls of the Gators’ facilities for the next 12 months. And what’s worse, is that it put the officials on alert for any and all excessive celebration for the rest of the game. Any other game, and Wondy Pierre-Louis would not have been flagged for diving into the end zone on his interception. The announcers were incredulous during the course of the game each time a personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called. Yet they never connected it to Richt’s amateur stunt. Instead they praised it and re-played it. I’ve talked at length over the years about how the Gators have the psychological edge over the Dawgs, and this stunt showed just how true that is.
In other “cover your eyes” news from the game; did you see the Gators’ defense? No, neither did I. Unless you count those guys in blue shirts who seemed to be on the field just barely getting in Georgia’s way. Everyone I know in the Gator Nation wants to talk about this defense’s youth. Fine, but they are eight games into the season; a little improvement might be nice. Giving up 3rd and short to a team that is running all over you, fair enough. But to let a mediocre QB like Matthew Stafford complete a pass to convert 3rd and 18? No way. That’s not going to cut it. Unless this defense gets it’s shit together, the Gators will lose the next two games. Mark my words. Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin can only carry the team so far by themselves.
Finally, I have some hope that we can prevail against FSU to end the regular season. If only because our defensive ineptitude is matched only by that of their offense.
Stop The Damn Play!
In the second quarter of the Florida-Georgia collision, the Dawgs were lined up for 2nd down near the goal-line. There was some movement along the line by the Gators. An official saw something, he began to run down the line of scrimmage toward the players, his flag out of his pocket dangling from his fingers. But he didn’t blow his whistle, he didn’t drop the flag, and didn’t wave his hands above his head to stop the play. Instead Georgia snapped the ball, Matthew Stafford took a hesitant knee, and a Florida defender leaped over the line to crash into Stafford. Another flag came out.
I have no beef with the personal foul. If nothing else, Stafford was on his knee. He was down. The Florida player should have known better. But before that, why were the officials not blowing their whistles and signaling the play dead. As it turns out, there really wasn’t a line foul of any kind (at least according to the refs). But their inability to stop the play allowed for Stafford to be pummeled unnecessarily. And that’s wrong. These officials should be held accountable for that. They should be made to sit down and watch the tape. Then explain to Matthew Stafford and Mark Richt why they didn’t stop the play. What if someone had been injured on the play?
The SEC needs to do something about their officiating crews. They have the worst crews in all the nation. While flipping back and forth between USF-UConn and UF-UGA the contrast between the skills and abilities of each crew was striking. The Big East unit called simple penalties without a 5 minute conference. While our SEC guys had to huddle everytime there was a flag.
Husky, Husky, Husky
The Bulls looked confused. That’s the best way I can think of to describe what I saw on Saturday. Granted, I was concentrating on the Florida game. But during commercial breaks I flipped over to ABC. Matt Grothe, and his mohawk, seemed to not know what to do out there. And while the defense didn’t give up much as the game wore on, they were beatable enough in the early going. Rutgers was stomped by West Virginia, so the Bulls could have turned things around and gotten back in the driver’s seat in the Big East, but instead they failed to beat Connecticut.
Turning point here Bulls fans. That loss to Rutgers, while deflating, shouldn’t define the season. It shouldn’t be something that everyone looks at and says “what if?” Instead the team and the fans need to look forward and try to win the Big East.
Four Dash Four
I’m not going to dwell on another snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory. Rather I’m going to look ahead and see what’s what for this team. Jon Gruden’s coaching career in Tampa is hanging in the balance right now. It was all wine and roses at 3-1. Now after laying a 1-3 turd going into the half-way mark the Bucs are teetering on oblivion. The next three games bring a home date with Arizona, the Bye, and at Atlanta. If the Bucs don’t go 2-0 over that stretch, they have no business talking about playoffs anyway. But after that comes a home date with Washington and a trip to New Orleans. That brace of games representing the last real test for this team. The PiPP finish the 2007 regular season with @HOU, ATL, @SF, and CAR.
What we need to do against Washington will depend entirely on how they fare against the Jets, the Eagles, and Cowboys. One gimmie and a couple of tests. But the Saints have Jacksonville, St. Louis, Houston, and Carolina before facing us again. That’s two gimmies and two tests. Either way, we want to beat the Saints just for division standings. If the Skins go 1-2 before coming to town we can stand a loss to them. If they’ve managed 2-1, or even 3-0, we must absolutely beat them.
If the Bucs make it to the Houston game at 8-4 or 7-5, we’ll talk again about the playoffs. And even about division championships and bye weeks. But until then there’s business to be taken care of. And it starts next week at RayJay against the Cardinals.
Wife Beaten
The Wife Beaters put a good old fashioned whuppin’ on the Rusty Trombones. I was down something like 35-40 points at the end of the early games. But, if only I had put in Colston I would have won. Sucks.
Running Items
Breath of A Salesman
This almost made it as a WTF? also..
Viva Viagra
Plus One Bowl
LSU vs Boston College
Even though Ohio State looks pretty strong, the way this season has been going I can’t be sure they’ll make it to New Orleans.
Super Bowl XLII
New England vs. uh… um…. Dallas, no. Giants… maybe. Packers… could be. Seattle through the back door? Who knows.
Seriously, when is the NFC going to get it together and produce a powerful team? When?
Next Week: Can the Gators salvage their season? Can the Bucs do the same? Will the Trombones get off the schnied? Do you care?
You know, there was another commercial that came on this weekend that immediately made me think of Breath of a Salesman. But I’ll be damned if I can remember what that is - and probably why you didn’t mention it either.
Oh, and thanks for thinking of me - not sure what I’d do without my fix.
WOW Tacoma Ad maybe….
That was the one! It took me about a minute to process that one. Combined with the one where the earth is destroyed and the only thing that survives is the guy in his Tacoma as he speeds by on a fragment of earth.
I mean, what’s the message of those commercials? Tacoma: When you absolutely have to leave the house, despite that Molten Core raid, and get more Coca-Cola, Doritos, and Pizza Bagels.
XTREME!