The Most Surprising NFL Division Debate – Who Expected The NFC South To Go South?

December 23, 2009

Read the arguments from Babe Ruthless and Bleacher Fan.



With two weeks left to go in the NFL’s regular season, there is still quite a bit to be determined. Three division races are still up for grabs and three of the four wild card spots have yet to be claimed. Today, The Sports Debates is exploring which division is the most surprising. Taking a quick look at the divisions, there is one division that really surprises me, and it is not one of those good surprises. Good surprises will happen to all of us hopefully two days from now. This is a bad surprise… the disappointing play in the NFC South.

First, the one bright spot in the NFC South is the New Orleans Saints. I thought they would make a run at a playoff spot, and I am a big fan of Drew Brees. But never ever did I expect the Saints to be 13-1 at this point in the season. That is certainly a good thing.

Now, on we go to the bad!

The Atlanta Falcons were a sexy preseason pick to make a run in the playoffs, and possibly even win the Super Bowl. Folks, that just is not happening as the Falcons were already eliminated from playoff consideration before this past Sunday. Running back Michael Turner got off to a mediocre start (ask Sports Geek about that) and that led to more pressure on Matt Ryan, who struggled at times. Then, once Turner and Ryan went down with injuries, the Falcons were doomed. That is because the undermanned Falcons defense has been downright horrible at times. I have been a vocal critic of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, but in reality, he has very little to work with on defense. I mean, look at this defensive depth chart. Yikes!!!

The Carolina Panthers, last year’s division winner, has been a favorite target of The Sports Debates. First, Sports Geek stuck a fork in the team back in early October. Then, we actually did an entire debate on the future of John Fox. The bottom line is that at 6-8, the Panthers have been a complete disappointment. In actuality, the writing was written on the wall in INK when the Panthers front office had a complete brain fart and decided to give Jake Delhomme a contract extension (which takes the cake of the year’s worst contract in ANY sport… by far!). Not sure what they were smoking then, but I hope they have stopped by now. That constitutes a violation of the NFL’s drug policy! Whether or not this season costs John Fox his job remains to be seen, but either way, it has been a disappointing season.

I think we all saw the Tampa Bay Bucs taking a dive but yikes! This bad? How in the world did they beat Green Bay earlier in the season? I know the Bucs play in the NFL , and, theoretically, every team has a chance to win every week. As Dennis Green would say, “That’s why we took the [expletive deleted] field.” But come on! A record of 2-12? Fairly or unfairly, head coach Raheem Morris is already under fire partly due to the fact that he has essentially fired both his offensive coordinator and his defensive coordinator this season. Wait a minute! He fired his offensive coordinator ten days before the season. Why didn’t we see the signs then? And, are there signs of improvement? Not really!

It is the time of year to celebrate good surprises. But I am lamenting a bad surprise. The NFC South went south this year!

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Posted by Loyal Homer

The Most Surprising NFL Division Debate – The Exciting AFC South

December 23, 2009

Read the arguments from Bleacher Fan and Loyal Homer about which NFL division has been the most surprising.



The AFC South – home of the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans – has been the most surprising division in the NFL during the 2009 season. The division has some of the most explosive playmakers and teams in the NFL. After 14 weeks, the AFC South can boast the only unbeaten team (the Indianapolis Colts), one of the biggest turnarounds in the NFL (the resurgent Tennessee Titans), and a division where every single team is still in the playoff hunt. The AFC South is the division to watch in 2009.

By now everyone knows the Colts can win, but few would have anticipated the Colts to march to perfection over the course of 23 regular season wins dating back to November 2nd, 2008. The Colts have won squeakers, like the one point nail biting victory in week ten over the New England Patriots, and they have won blowouts like the 42-6 spanking of the St. Louis Rams in week seven. Yes, the fact that the Colts are winning is no big surprise, but who would have thought that a Dungy-less Colts team would be chasing perfection with just two more games to go? What’s more is that the 2009 Colts have been dominant with a cast of new characters. Peyton Manning has had to reach out to fresh, new targets like Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon (those are fun names) since his all-time leading receiver Marvin Harrison departed for Jacksonville and his up-and-coming number two receiver, Anthony Gonzalez, was banged up early on in the season. Manning’s ability to maintain his elite level of play, despite the shifting circumstances in Indy, has cemented his status as a living legend. Who doesn’t want to watch master at work?

Fans of the Tennessee Titans have been on a roller coaster ride of a season during 2009. Just one season earlier, the Titans seemed to be proving to be a powerhouse in the division – thanks in no small part to the resurgence of a running game with new comer Chris Johnson – but the ride derailed this season when the team went winless through the first six games. Then after a bye in week seven the Titans started to play like, well, Titans, and the team found the right track. What’s more shocking is that Vince Young shook off his existential funk and started to play winning football. Young rose above personal bouts with uncertainty about his future and rumors of suicidal tendencies to guide the Titans to win seven of the last eight games. The Titans’ wild ride has been one to watch this season, and who knows where it will take them – maybe to another Music City Miracle.

The Jaguars, Texans, and Titans have been playing scrappy football to stay in contention. All three teams own 7-7 records, putting them in the hunt for one of the remaining playoff spots. The uncertainty surrounding any playoff hopes makes each one of these teams desperate and dangerous. Still even more drama surrounds this division, as Texans head coach Gary Kubiak is not just fighting for the playoffs and relevance within the division, but also his future with the team. Team leaders and explosive players like Andre Johnson, Maurice Jones Drew, and Chris Johnson are pushing their teams to produce, and its making for great football. These playmakers have always had lots of potential and upside, but it seems like they are all living up to their potential this season. Other divisions may have Lions and Tigers and Bears, but all the “Oh My”s are coming from the AFC South in 2009.

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Posted by Babe Ruthless

The Most Surprising NFL Division Debate – NFC North Tops the Surprise Charts in 2009

December 23, 2009

Read the arguments from Babe Ruthless and Loyal Homer about which NFL division has been the most surprising.



As is always the case, there have been many surprises in the NFL in 2009. Teams which were supposed to succeed will fail, and teams which are supposed to fail will succeed. The NFC North, though, went four-for-four in the surprise category this season.

Detroit Lions

On the ‘Surprise-o-Meter’ the Detroit Lions provide the smallest blip of all the teams in the NFC North. But, realistically, would you have picked them to win two games all season? I thought that the only achievement the Lions were going to claim this season was the new record for consecutive losses. Instead, they managed to put together not just one, but TWO wins. Again, this is not an Earth-shattering surprise, but it is a surprise nonetheless.

Green Bay Packers

Coming in next on the scale of surprises from the NFC North is the Green Bay Packers. The Packers, who had been pegged as the likely champions of the division (with some even going so far as to choose the Packers as the NFC representatives in the Super Bowl), have played some of the most inconsistent football in the league. Behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have displayed the potential to put a TON of points on the board, scoring 30 points or more in five games, and being held to less than 20 points only once in the entire season. Those offensive stats should have been enough to lock up a playoff spot by this point in the season.

The reason that the Packers have been unable to seal the deal up to this point in the season is because of an inability to put away the teams that should have been easiest to beat. The Packers, despite offensive prowess, somehow managed to hand the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that team’s only win of the season, and most recently helped Pittsburgh end a five game losing streak which included losses against the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, and Cleveland Browns.

For a team pegged to make a Super Bowl run this season, that kind of inconsistency has been a surprise!

Chicago Bears

I would like to file a missing persons report – The Chicago Bears offense, which was expected to show up at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on September 13th, 2009, never arrived at their anticipated destination, and has not been seen or heard from since.

No offense in the NFL came into the season with higher expectations, and then failed to meet those expectations, as spectacularly as the Bears. After closing an alleged blockbuster deal that brought quarterback Jay Cutler to the Windy City, folks all over Chi-Town were giddy with anticipation to see what a bona-fide quarterback could actually do for their beloved Bears.

After all the anticipation, how exactly DID the Bears’ offense do behind that bona-fide quarterback? They have played to a record of 5-9, scoring 25 or more points only three times all season (against the Browns, Lions, and Seahawks… not exactly the NFL’s most dominant teams). In terms of season statistics, the team ranks 23rd out of 32 teams with only 18.1 points per game. For his part, Jay Cutler has thrown only 19 touchdowns to 25 interceptions, and has a passer rating of only 71.1.

I would rank the Chicago Bears as being one of the biggest disappointments of the entire season.

Minnesota Vikings

As surprising as the letdown of the Chicago Bears offense might have been, it is actually the Minnesota Vikings who top the surprise charts for 2009.

Brett Favre’s resurgence may not be a surprise any more (15 weeks later), but when you consider the manner in which he entered the season, it has clearly been one of the biggest surprises of 2009. Behind Favre, the Vikings have already clinched the NFC North, and stand poised to claim one of the two postseason byes in the NFC. Not bad for a team who’s coach, Brad Childress, was viewed as being on the hot seat when the season began!

Favre has not been the only surprise for the Vikings, though, and much of his success MUST be credited to his weapons on offense. Adrian Peterson has once again provided very strong numbers at the running back position, but it is the emergence of three receiving threats – Sidney Rice, tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, and NFL Rookie-of-the-Year frontrunner Percy Harvin – that has made the Vikings one of the most dangerous teams in the league.

Good or bad, the NFC North has been the most surprising division in the entire league. From top to bottom, it seems that none of the teams from the division got their respective memos on how to perform in 2009. They have collectively provided some of the biggest headlines of the NFL season, and have added some excitement and drama to a season that has been woefully lacking of both.

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Posted by Bleacher Fan

The Practice Versus Layoff Debate – Should Coaches Give Players Time Off Before the Bowl Game?

December 22, 2009

Read the arguments from Loyal Homer and Bleacher Fan about whether or not coaches should allow players time off between the end of the regular season and a bowl game.



It is nice, in this economy, to see “Layoff” in a headline and for the article to have nothing to do with businesses letting employees go. Instead, it’s bowl season. And in bowl season a layoff is defined simply as the time between a team’s final regular season game and its bowl game. The better the team, the longer the layoff.

No teams have endured the layoff question marks more than Big Ten teams. The final game of the regular season in the Big Ten takes place before Thanksgiving. That means the layoff for a Big Ten that is slated to play in the national title game is between 35-45 days. The Midwest’s biggest conference is relevant in this debate because it is the Big Ten that lands more teams in BCS games than any other conference. At this point in the life-span of the BCS it seems reasonable to assume that the Big Ten schools would have derived some foolproof formula for giving players some time off or forcing them to practice to entire break between regular season and bowl game. Especially Ohio State, as the Buckeyes have been confronted with this issue on multiple occasions. But, Big Ten schools seem to have tried every combination of layoff and practice and still do not have much to show for it.

Now it is teams from the SEC and Big XII that are faced with a layoff between their conference championship and the national title game. Both teams are suffering from a wait of over a month between games. I say suffering on purpose. As much praise as is lavished on the respective coaches for Alabama and Texas, Nick Saban and Mack Brown – both championship coaches – they are faced with a difficult decision. Should they allow the players on the team some time off before resuming practice, or practice straight the way through until the bowl game, business as usual?

One of the primary considerations in this debate is that these players are students. As such, they have classes, studying, finals and, of course, amateur status. They are not professional athletes. They are students who play sports.

Operating under the assumption that these players are not having tests taken for them and are actually pulling double duty, what should the coaches do?

Both coaches are in luck, as our expert sports debaters settle the issue: Should coaches, no matter how inconvenient for the players, demand practice takes place as usual from when the final regular season game ends right up until the bowl game?

Bleacher Fan will argue that coaches should demand students maintain a steady practice schedule throughout the entire layoff while Loyal Homer will argue that some time off is good for rest and relaxation plus necessary to give enough time for the students to study.

Steady or smart? Let the debate begin!

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Posted by Sports Geek

The Practice or Take a Break Debate – If Practice Makes Perfect, What Does NOT Practicing Make?

December 22, 2009

Read the debate intro and the argument from Loyal Homer that college football coaches should allow players some time off before the bowl game.



“When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win.” – Ed Macauley

The top level of college football is the Division I FBS… which stands for the Football BOWL Subdivision. That means that the programs which compete within the FBS ranks are ultimately striving to compete in – you guessed it – BOWL games. The ultimate measure of success within any FBS program is to earn an invitation to (and ultimately win) a bowl game at the end of the season. Obviously, the prestige of one bowl as it compares to another can determine the level of success. But, nevertheless, winning a bowl game is the prize that all FBS teams seek.

Why, then, would the head coach of a program within the FBS spend all year building his program, competing on the field for months all in the interest of earning a bowl invitation, only to STOP practicing when it comes time to prepare for that bowl game?! It is like spending thousands of dollars and several years of your life attending medical school, but then taking a trip to Cancun instead of studying for the boards.

The layoff between the regular season and a bowl game is the time when practice, study, and preparation is of the utmost importance, yet some coaches treat it as though it were not important at all. Instead of maintaining a regular training and practice schedule, these coaches will allow their athletes extended “off” time to enjoy the holidays.

Last season Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt afforded his team with a holiday break during the layoff between his season and the Sun Bowl, in direct contradiction of his Sun Bowl opponents, Oregon State. Wannstedt was quoted as saying, “Oregon State, they’re not even sending their kids home for Christmas. They’re working right through (this week). I just felt like our kids needed a couple days off. We needed a little break.”

Well, the Panthers took that break, and ended up losing the Sun Bowl by a score of 3-0. While there is no way to prove that the break cost the Panthers the game, it is equally difficult to say it did not. Isn’t it possible that a little extra time, practice, and preparation could have made the difference? ONE possession is all the difference needed for the Panthers to at least get on the board. Perhaps a commitment of three additional days to creating the gameplan, studying film, etc. would have helped the Panthers convert just ONE extra first down, allowing the team to move the ball just ten more yards. In a game that ended with a score of 3-0, ten yards could have made an important difference. Unable to muster a single point, though, the Panthers left the Sun Bowl shut out and defeated.

It is one thing to lose a game when you know that you have done everything in your power to win and were 100 percent prepared. It is an entirely different story to lose when there was more you could have done in preparation. That was exactly the case for Pitt last season.

The obligations of the school come first. That means that these student-athletes deserve the time to prepare for their exams. The second obligation, then, is to ensure that the football program is working at 100 percent capacity to bring success to the university. The students have accepted scholarships from their respective universities, and take full advantage of the benefits that being a football player for a school in the FBS offers. Asking those students to maintain a full practice and workout routine during the holidays is a reasonable expectation to ask for in return.

Taking a break is not an option for a program that seeks to be successful in the FBS.

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Posted by Bleacher Fan

The Practice Versus Layoff Debate – We All Need a Little Break

December 22, 2009

Read the debate intro and Bleacher Fan’s argument.



Sports Geek is on the record saying he enjoys the bowl season. In fact, I believe he mentioned it in his argument on Friday. I enjoy it also. One of the many quirks of the bowl season is the fact that there is a lengthy layoff between games, especially for those teams that play after January 1. It is a big deal for the Big Ten teams, as Sports Geek pointed out in the intro, but the fact of the matter is that it is an issue a lot of teams have to deal with, regardless of the conference.

This season, with Alabama and Texas both playing on December 5th, they encounter over a month of layoff (34 days to be exact), which is a short break if you ask Ohio State fans! If you are coaching one of these teams, do you continue to bust the tails of the players throughout the layoff, or do you reward the players for a job well done by giving them some time off? I choose the latter.

Most of these guys have been busting it since late July or early August. They have been to practice nearly every day, except for a couple of days off during the scheduled off week during the season. In the process, they have made a ton of money for their respective universities (how many times have I seen in a press release in the past two weeks that the Texas Longhorn athletic department has given over $6M back to the university?) They have brought all sorts of recognition to the school. They deserve a break. After finals, the players deserve a chance to go spend some time with their families and enjoy the Holiday season with loved ones. Keep in mind that this year’s BCS championship is 13 days after Christmas! That is more than enough time to get the mind back into championship mode, especially since the guys have already spent many hours looking at film of the opposing team.

To contradict what Bleacher Fan said in his argument, let’s look at what the Florida Gators did last season. The Gators had a 33 day layoff last season between the SEC Championship and the BCS National Championship. Urban Meyer gave the players the week off following the victory over Alabama as they had finals coming up. They then had a week of light practice during the week of finals as they went over basic fundamentals. After that, they were given five days off for Christmas break, as they had an opportunity to go home to their families. This gave the coaches a breather as well, as I am sure they used this time to go do some last minute shopping for their spouses (thoughts of Urban Meyer walking through a Gainesville mall immediately come to mind)! After the break, the team reconvened and prepared for the battle with the Sooners. And guess what? The Gators won a second championship in three years. It is hard to argue with how Meyer handled the layoff.

If you are a coach, here is what you have got to be thinking: You have trusted your players to take you through the season and get you this far. You might as well trust them to handle the time off appropriately and be prepared to win the game upon their return.

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Posted by Loyal Homer

The Best BCS Bowl Debate – Pressure-Packed National Championship Game Dusts Contenders

December 21, 2009

Read the arguments from Loyal Homer and Bleacher Fan about which BCS bowl game they believe is the best of the 2009-2010 bowl season.



Here’s a favorite Sports Geek quote, from 20th Century British politician Sebastian Coe: “All pressure is self-inflicted. It’s what you make of it or how you let it rub off on you.”

No, politics are not exactly like sports, but the quote rings true in the world of sports. Champions are defined by their ability to perform when the stakes are at their highest point, when the fate of a team – or a city or a region – depends on the outcome of a game. It is in the most trying times that champions step forward. The BCS national championship game – more than any other BCS game – is THE game that will let one of two teams earn a championship for the 2009-2010 season.

As in most championship games in college, plenty of star power packs the field. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Alabama running back Mark Ingram feel Heisman Trophy pressure in the championship game, but for different reasons. Ingram won and must perform like a winner while McCoy was twice jilted, and must perform as though he deserved it and the voters made a mistake. Aside from the normal pressures of the game with coaches, teams, and fans all depending on a desired outcome, these two players must still play as though they have something to prove.

Both teams have other pressurized situations on offense.

Alabama has a freshman quarterback who is just learning to perform under pressure. Greg McElroy faced the most pressure he has ever faced in the SEC Championship game against Florida, and played extremely well by completing two thirds of his passes, throwing a touchdown, and only taking one sack. Coming into the big conference championship game McElroy was believed to be the weak link of Alabama’s team, but rose the occasion and played extremely well.

The Texas offense struggled to play with consistent dominance this season. On some occasions the offense looked entirely unstoppable, but Nebraska’s defense shut down the aggressive, fast-paced Longhorn attack. Nebraska’s defense featured an excellent defensive tackle in Ndamukong Suh, and Alabama’s also has a great defensive tackle in Terrance Cody. The Texas offensive line must subdue the pressure of the game and effectively block Cody inside to have a shot. If the Longhorns are dominated at the point of attack again, the game will not be close. No pressure.

Both team’s defenses are under pressure to play as well as the lofty statistics indicate they should. Alabama has the number one scoring defense in the country this season, allowing just 11 points per game. Alabama’s defense also allowed only 241.8 yards per game. Translation, the Tide allowed few points because they allowed few big plays. Perhaps the defense is not the flashiest in the country, but it was the most effective.

The defensive flash all resided in Austin. Texas also finished in the top 10 in scoring defense, ranking eighth at season’s end and allowing 13.5 points per game. Texas especially shined on rushing defense, allowing just 818 rushing yards all season, tops in the NCAA. The pass defense also picked off 24 passes this season – another top ranking in the NCAA – along with four of those picks returned for touchdowns.

These defensive statistics – though superficially impressive – must also be considered through the prism of the team’s opponents. While Alabama played five top 25 opponents over the course of the season in a division that was stronger than anticipated before the season, Texas played in a division that did not live up to expectations, playing only three ranked teams all season. While in-season pressure is questionable game in and game out, this game has enough pressure on each player to make up for it.

Alabama should win this game. The Tide feature strength on the offensive and defensive lines, and plenty of talent to go around at skill positions. The stats and the stars point to an Alabama advantage. But, it is special players that play their best when the pressure reaches its highest levels. Throughout his career Colt McCoy has proven he is a special player. He now has the chance he’s waited for his entire career – spanning four seasons of starting at quarterback for Texas – playing in a national championship game. McCoy and the Longhorns may render a seeming advantage null. But they will have to overcome the most pressure they have ever encountered to do it.

One thing is for certain, this game is shaping up to be the best BCS game of this season, and could be one of the best ever.

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Posted by Sports Geek

The Best BCS Bowl Debate – Orange You Glad You Decided to Watch this Game?

December 21, 2009

Read Sports Geek’s and Loyal Homer’s arguments about which BCS game is the best.



Higher stakes do not always equate to higher entertainment levels. The problem is that people seem less interested in competition these days, and more interested in what is at stake. Think about the BCS games slated for this season: the National Championship (Texas versus Alabama), the Fiesta Bowl (two unbeaten BCS party crashers), the Sugar Bowl (the used-to-be number one team versus the Brian Kelly-less, but no less undefeated, Cincinnati Bearcats), the Rose Bowl (Big Ten versus Pac-10 Champs), and then there is the Fed Ex Afterthought Bowl Orange Bowl.

With all of the drama, excitement, and headlines based on what is at stake in those other bowls, people seem to have lost sight of the Orange Bowl. The matchup between ACC Champion Georgia Tech and At-Large Iowa takes place on January 5th (I bet you didn’t even know it was on that day) has been generally overlooked by just about everyone in the college football world. Heed my words, you are going to be very disappointed if you overlook what could very well be the most entertaining game of the entire Bowl Championship Series.

I know that is a bold statement to make, but consider the two teams’ respective performances over the course of the 2009 season.

From the ACC, Georgia Tech boasts one of the nation’s most productive offenses. The Yellow Jackets own the second best rushing attack in the nation, averaging more than 300 yards per game on the ground behind junior running back Jonathan Dwyer, who completed his second consecutive season of rushing for more than 1,300 yards. Dwyer was not the only offensive star for the Jackets in 2009, either, as he was one of FIVE players to be named to the ACC’s all-conference first team. With Dwyer, quarterback Josh Nesbitt, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, and linemen Sean Bedford and Cord Howard earned all-ACC honors for their contributions to a team that was one of the highest scoring in the nation.

As for the Iowa Hawkeyes, the conversation begins with one of the stingiest defenses in the country. With a front seven that includes Broderick Binns, Pat Angerer, and Adrian Clayborn, the Hawkeyes allowed only 15.5 points per game, tenth best in the nation. Combined with a never-say-die offense that will once again be led by senior quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who makes his return to the field since suffering an ankle injury during an upset loss against Northwestern, Iowa has been one of the nation’s most exciting teams all season.

Even IF Georgia Tech’s offense is able to score on Iowa’s vaunted defensive interior, Iowa is no stranger to playing from behind. Having come back from behind in nearly every one of their games this season, it is unwise to count the Hawkeyes out of the game.

The Orange Bowl may not bring the headlines that the national championship will bring, and it may not feature any undefeated programs. However, it WILL feature a top-ten matchup pitting one of the nation’s top offenses against one of its best defenses. On January 5th, in Miami, we will FINALLY be able to answer the age old question – “What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?”

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Posted by Bleacher Fan

The Best BCS Bowl Debate – Do You Smell The Roses?

December 21, 2009

Read the arguments from Sports Geek and Bleacher Fan.



The writers here at The Sports Debates had a relatively interesting discussion behind the scenes concerning this debate. We all have reservations about the teams that are playing in the games we are arguing in favor of. Being from the South, it is not very often that you will see me arguing for a game involving teams from the Pac-10. But I am all about watching the best game, and after looking at the five BCS games, I have come to the conclusion that the Rose Bowl is the BEST BCS game.

Ohio State, for all the criticism it takes from Loyal Homer behind closed doors for its inability to win the big game, closes out the decade as one of college football’s top programs. I give credit for that. Ohio State has won six Big Ten titles this decade, and the appearance in the Granddaddy of Them All will be their fifth consecutive BCS appearance. It looked like this season’s team would not make it to a BCS game, as they had two losses by midseason. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor and head coach Jim Tressel have been fighting off critics all season. The criticism reached such a fever pitch that The Sports Debates actually had a debate on the use of Pryor earlier this year. I have never been one to just love the Ohio State brand of football, and yet, after late wins over Penn State and Iowa, here they are again! A solid defense and an opportunistic offense behind a playmaking quarterback is a recipe for a ten win season. A win over the Ducks locks up a top ten finish… AGAIN… and really raises expectations for the 2010 season.

Meanwhile, the Ducks also took the scenic route to Pasadena. We all remember the LeGarrette Blount incident in the first game of the season. I remember watching that game and thinking, “This team is terrible.” But to head coach Chip Kelly’s credit – someone who deserves some coach of the year consideration – the team righted the ship, and here they are! Highlights of the season include an absolute whipping of USC and a thrilling win over rival Oregon State in the Civil War. To people on the East coast, you might not be familiar with Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, but he is the real deal. I admit I was late on his bandwagon, but I watched him pick apart Southern Cal to the tune of nearly 400 yards. That game convinced me of his talent. Somewhat quietly, I think, he threw for over 2,000 yards and ran for over 650 yards with a combined 27 touchdowns. Assuming he comes back, he could be mentioned as a preseason Heisman Trophy contender next season. It will be interesting to see how he does against a tough Buckeye defense.

The Buckeyes against the Ducks! Is it the sexy, glamorous matchup that fans outside of these two fan bases want to see? Probably not! But it is a game involving two teams who play very different styles of football. It is an opportunity for both teams to try to get some national respect. And after all, it is the Rose Bowl!

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Posted by Loyal Homer

The Best Game of THIS Week(end) Debate – Playoff Preview in San Diego

December 18, 2009

Read Sports Geek’s argument and Loyal Homer’s argument about which will be the best game of this coming week(end).



Sunday’s matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers was already going to be very exciting. It is a late-season matchup between two of the best teams in the AFC, featuring the probable division champions in the AFC North and AFC West. It is likely a playoff preview, with the winner assuming control of the remaining AFC bye during the first round of the playoffs (Indianapolis has already claimed one of them).

Yesterday, though, the buildup to the game took an entirely different direction after Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry died as a result of injuries suffered in an accident earlier this week. Although Henry had not been active on the Bengals roster since suffering a broken arm in early November, he was nonetheless a member of the Bengals family, and his tragic death will certainly impact the teams as it plays out the remainder of the 2009 season.

This is the second time that death has cast a pall over the Bengals during a season that should be full of celebration and excitement. When defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife suddenly passed away earlier in the year, the Bengals showed their support by rallying around Zimmer (who returned to coach the Bengals in a game only three days after her death), and played to a very inspiring win over the division rivals Baltimore Ravens.

Once more, the Bengals will take the field on Sunday in honor of a lost member of the family. Whether this loss will serve as motivation or a distraction for the Bengals has yet to be seen, but the importance of this game cannot be overlooked. If the Bengals succeed in defeating San Diego, they will clinch the AFC North and hold the tiebreak over San Diego, securing control of the second AFC bye.

As sorry as San Diego may be for the passing of Chris Henry, though, the team is not about to just hand the Bengals the game with a sympathy card attached. There is just as much at stake this weekend for the San Diego Super-Chargers, a team that is trying to lock up a bid for the postseason in front of the hometown fans on Sunday afternoon.

If you were paying very close attention last weekend, you may have heard this obscure fact: Did you know that Philip Rivers is undefeated as a starter when playing games in the month of December?! I didn’t know that until Terry Bradshaw, Jimmie Johnson, Howie Long, Boomer Esiason, Dan Marino, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Keith Olberman, Chris Berman, and just about every other NFL analyst harped incessantly on the fact as if they had just uncovered some ground-breaking discovery… but, I digress. The point is that Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers are playing some of the best football in the league right now, and have won each of the last eight games.

San Diego, a team that had been overshadowed by Denver’s surprise start this season, has assumed control of the AFC West, as most preseason projections indicated. Like Cincinnati, the Chargers can clinch the division with a win and would tighten the grip on the second seed in the AFC playoffs (or possibly clinch it with a little extra help from around the league).

This Sunday, while our hearts are with the Cincinnati Bengals, our eyes will be on Qualcomm Stadium for this game between two of the AFC’s best!

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