Sunday, February 10, 2008

Bowling for losers

I suppose that the Pro Bowl doesn't merit a ton of comment, but hey, it's not like they charge by the word in the wacky world of blogging. Here's my thoughts on a weekend of sports:

1. DJ White is a man. I say that after every IU game, but it's true every time. My all-time favorite IU starting five would be: G Alford and Bailey, F Chaney and DJ White, C Alan Henderson. I know that's some creative positioning, but whatever. That was a big win by IU on the road; their first over a top 50 RPI team.

2. Peyton Manning is a great QB...

3. Derek Anderson is not. He's horrible. He was overrated for the vast majority of this year. I've been saying for weeks that Cleveland is the team most likely to regress in a big way next year, and I'm sticking to it. They have to cross divisions with the AFC South, and won't get the cupcake NFC West. That team will be lucky to win 5 games and will wonder why they reupped Romeo a year early. If you can't hit open men in the Pro Bowl, you don't deserve to start in the NFL. All you have is all world receivers, linemen and running backs facing a defense that can't blitz, stunt, or play a nickel. He's horrible. I hate him.

4. Don't ask me why I care about the Pro Bowl so much. I have no good answer to that question.

5. Heather R sends us this link between coaches present and presidents past.

6. The Colts and Skins are playing the HoF game next year. This means 5 preseason games. Ugh. Maybe 18to88 will road trip it up to Canton. Somehow I doubt it. Why go when you can watch it on TV and listen to Tony Korn...wait a minute! BOOK ME A BUS TICKET!

7. Moss and Brady not showing up was gutless. Don't give me that injury BS. Show up and take your medicine.

8. We are hoping to do a final 2007-8 podcast this week. No promises.

Demond Sanders: Derek Anderson was horrible. I'd blame him, but Norv had a big role in the (meaningless) debacle. How did the AFC blow a 24-7 lead? Settling for 3 field goals in the Pro Bowl is just lame. At least Reggie Wayne (5 for 55) and Antoine Bethea (7 tackles, 2 assists) had productive days. Oh and yes, Peyton rules.

I'm coming around on IU. I was pretty down on them for blowing back to back games, but the truth is their three losses have come to top twenty teams. FYI: Connecticut has come on really strong of late. I think the Hoosiers have a chance to make this a special season. They have the first and second leading scorers in the Big Ten, but the development of Crawford and Ellis will be the difference. They are looking more comfortable as the conference schedule plays out.

The national media complaints about Indiana's weak schedule will die down quickly if they take care of business during this home stand. If they can handle Wisconsin, MSU, and the Boilers back to back to back then the Big Ten title and a one or two seed will be within reach. Big if, I know. Still, it's exciting to know that the Hoosiers are cobbling together their best regular season in 15 years with surprising ease. There are (perhaps rightfully) plenty of doubters out there, but 20-3 is 20-3.

6 comments:

Bob M. said...

At first I thought the Brady/Moss bail out was gutless and would not have happened if they had won. Esp when TB says "the leg is 100% fine") at the SB. But you know, he was hurt, so I give him a pass, although the NFL was no doubt displeased to see it's heartthrob coverboy siring more bastards rather than promoting the league that made him a multi-multi-millionaire.
Moss... injury, or a kilo of weed that needed some serious smoking down before the preseason starts...? I did not think he was injured. What this DOES tell me is that he'll most likely be a Pat next season, regardless of money. He and his agent figured they didn't need to do any more image-buffing and this is the kind of thing that, had he had an ordinary year in 2007, say 70 catches 900 yards 12 TDs, he'd HAVE TO GO TO so other teams would see that he is committed and serious and a good guy, etc. If he showed up, I'd take it as a good sign that he plans on testing the market to its fullest ability to pay him. Now...not so much. Damn.

BTW, did not see the game; glad Antoine had a good showing. I still fondly remember the year a rookie named Faulk ran all the hell over the NFC. I was traveling for work, sick, and holed up in a Philly hotel room in a blizzard, so seeing him rack up sick yardage was a lone bright spot in an otherwise dreary weekend.

Bob M. said...

Oh, and regarding the... yaaawn! Hall of Fame Game, at least it's in the USA and not overseas! Did you see the recent John Clayton article forecasting the 2008 SB contenders? Guess who has the easiest schedule based on 2007 records? Pats, of course, and then the Chargers..... and one of the hardest...? Colts. Looks like we'll have to take the #3 seed all the way to the house again.

Manratten said...

Your comment about the Colts playing another preseason game kind of just makes me think....So what? Not like do anything in any of the others. Would be interesting to compare the Dungy era Colts preseason/regular season numbers.

Was watching Invincible, the Wahlberg flick where he plays for the Eagles. The most interesting thing I saw in that film was how much emphasis they were putting on the preseason. I guess you view things a little differently when you are fighting for the last spot on the roster.

shake'n'bake said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
shake'n'bake said...

"Moss... injury, or a kilo of weed that needed some serious smoking down before the preseason starts...?"

Where did you think that Pats DB was going with his half a pound of marijuana (and no means to smoke it)?

link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/
nfl/news/story?id=3231684

Bob M. said...

shake,
Yeah, I DID hear about that and strangely did not think of Moss. My bad.
What the heck is up with weird shenannigans the night before, of, and after SBs? Was it Eugene Daniel getting arrested for solicitation the night before about 10 years ago? Barrett Robbins spending the big day in a bottle of tequila, Nick Harper's wife Ginsuing his leg (oh wait, that was just a playoff game), and now this. Whatever happened to the cliche about routine being king for the NFL? Wow, I think those 4 examples above all came from losing teams. Maybe routine REALLY IS of utmost importance!