Since I'm tired of writing full-length pieces on the sucktitude of Indiana/Purdue football and the bi-polar Colts, I decided this week to take a look around with another edition of The Shot Selection. Enjoy!
Swish: Tampa Bay Rays
I know that non-baseball fans and Red Sox front-runners across Central Indiana aren't too happy about the Rays making the World Series, but this really is one of the best "feel good" stories of recent memory. Especially if you're a fan of the Twins, Pirates, Royals, Athletics, Nationals - aka small-market baseball teams - you have to be happy for the Rays. They made all the right moves (Victor Zambrano for Scott Kazmir, Delmon Young for Matt Garza), drafted magnificently well (BJ Upton, Evan Longoria), and brought in the right mix of veterans (Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd). Now they have a chance to become World Series Champions. To be honest, I thought it was over after they collapsed in Game 5 and blew Game 6, but give these kids some credit for preventing another Boston team from playing for a title. I dislike Tampa Bay because they are in the division with the team I root for (Yankees) but I am forever grateful to them for ending the greatest two-championship-in-five-year dynasty in sports history.
Hoo-RAY! No more Boston!
Brick: Indianapolis Colts
Just when you thought everything was back to normal after a 31-3 pounding of Baltimore, the Colts continued their up-and-down play with a 34-14 loss at Green Bay. The loss dropped the Colts to 3-3 overall, and three full games behind AFC South leader Tennessee, who the Colts play this Monday night. The common theme for the Colts this season has been their inability to run the football and to stop the run, although I felt they improved in both of those categories in Sunday's loss. Ryan Grant did go over 100 yards, but he needed 31 carries to do so (3.3 ypc), and Dominic Rhodes ran for 73 yards on just 20 touches. The reason why the Colts were beaten so soundly is because Mike McCarthy coached the pants off of Tony Dungy. The blueprint for beating the Colts isn't rocket science (see: 2003-04 Patriots), as long as you can do two things - stay close so you don't have to abandon the run and BE PHYSICAL. Marvin Harrison is a Hall of Famer and Reggie Wayne is one of the elite wide receivers in the NFL, but both of those guys are softer than the Snuggle Bear wrapped in a down comforter. Green Bay's corners were physical with both of them, and completely took the Peyton's pass-catching duo (4 receptions, 35 yards) out of the game. Speaking of Peyton, he continued to struggle to shake the rust off, turning in the 4th worst QB rating of his career (46.6). Sticking with McCarthy's game plan the Packers continued to feed the Colts undersized front with a heavy dose of Ryan Grant, even though he wasn't tearing off big chunks of yardage.
Like I've said over the past few weeks, it's never as good or bad as it seems. At 3-3, the Colts are still very much alive for a playoff berth, especially because middle-tier of the AFC (Ravens, Jets, Patriots, Chargers, Jaguars) is so unpredictable mediocre. I still think that the Colts can and will beat out those teams for one of the two Wild Card spots. However, they absolutely have to win in Nashville on Monday night if they want to keep their streak of AFC South division titles alive. Trailing by four games with nine to play is an insurmountable hole.
Getting physical with the Colts is the key to keeping their finesse offense in check
Air Ball: ACC Football
All three of the ACC's ranked teams when down on Saturday when Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech were upset. Of course, three new teams - Florida State, Georgia Tech, and BC - all entered the poll this week to replace them. 9 of the 12 teams in the Conference have at least two losses, with the only exceptions being the three ranked teams (none in the Top 20). A Boston College team sans QB Matt Ryan and 17 fifth-year seniors from last season is leading the Atlantic Division right now. Preseason favorite Clemson is 3-4, Virginia Tech was beaten by East Carolina, Wake Forest lost to Navy and was shutout by Maryland, the Terps lost to Middle Tennessee, and Florida State has beaten a bunch of nobodys. Did I mention that Virginia lost to Duke by four touchdowns, UConn by five touchdowns, and USC by six touchdowns? That Cavs team is in 2nd place in the Coastal Division. Since the collective collapse of Florida State and Miami from the nation's elite, the ACC has not been able to recover. This is the worst BCS Conference in football (though the Big East is close...) and should provide another Orange Bowl cupcake for a lucky at-large team in January.
I know Clemson sucks, but this seems a little unnecessary, no?
Swish: Jeff Garcia After a 20-10 win over Seattle on Sunday, the Bucs are off to a 5-2 start and are atop the NFC South standings. There are many reasons for Tampa Bay’s recent success, but most of the credit has to fall on QB Jeff Garcia. Just look at what Garcia has done over the past three seasons: he is 20-12 in 32 starts since Donovan McNabb’s injury vaulted him into a starting role in Philadelphia in 2006. In that time, Garcia has thrown 27 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions, scoring a 94.9 QB Rating. Perhaps most importantly, he’s quarterbacked a Division winner in each of the last two seasons. Garcia saved Philly’s ’06 campaign, going 5-1 down the stretch to help the Eagles win the NFC East and secure a playoff berth. The next season, he took Tampa Bay from 4-12 to an NFC South title. Say what you want about Garcia being a huge dork, or about what he does in his free time, but on the football field the guy is a winner . Air Ball: Dallas Cowboys
Just two months ago, all the experts were salivating over Dallas' Pro Bowler-heavy roster and the prospects of an offense that included Tony Romo, Marion Barber, Terrell Owens, and Jason Witten. I'm not sure that anyone had a 20-point loss to the Rams in mid-October in the cards. Of course the Cowboys were without Tony Romo, but the last time I checked, Romo doesn't play defense. Steven Jackson gashed Dallas for 160 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and the St. Louis defense forced four turnovers. Just seven games into the regular season, Dallas is teetering on the brink of collapse at 4-3. Romo will miss another week (Tampa Bay at home), Jerry Jones isn't happy, Terrell Owens is isn't getting the ball, Wade Phillips is under fire, Pacman Jones could be suspended for the season, the Cowboys secondary is a mess, Roy Williams (the safety) still sucks, and trading for Roy Williams (the receiver) makes zero sense. If this season does go the way of the Titanic, it's time to re-think the whole "America's Team" label. The fact that Big D hasn't won a playoff game since before Mario Kart for Nintendo 64 came out is an embarrassment that can only be matched by this super-talented team falling on their face for another season.
I did not know what this was the last time that the Cowboys won a playoff game
Swish: Jimmie Johnson
His recent dominance has turned NASCAR Sprint Cup racing boring, but also puts the #48 in legendary company. Johnson is going for a third-straight points championship, a feat that has only been accomplished by Cale Yarborough (1976-78). He put himself in an enviable position to do so after Sunday's win at Martinsville. The win extended Johnson's points lead from 69 to 149 over 2nd place Greg Biffle with just four races left. Due to the dominance of the #48 car in the recently-implemented Chase format, some are thinking that the points system needs re-working. NASCAR put The Chase in place in 2004 in an effort to create a 10-race "playoff." If that's the case, then consider Jimmie Johnson as having a 3-0 series lead with a five-run Game 4 lead entering the 9th inning. In other words: It's over.
Air Ball: Washington State
You think things are going bad for Indiana this year? Try being a Washington State football fan. The Cougars have now played five Conference games, and in four of those games they've given up at least 60 points. That's right, SIXTY. 60. SIX-ZERO. That's ten touchdowns without the PATs. The latest debacle came in a 69-0 loss to USC, which was almost as unfair as Greg Jennings being matched up with Tim Jennings. Here are the statistics from that game:
Total yards: USC 626 - Washington State 116 First downs: USC 28 - Washington State 4 Yards per play: USC 8.9 - Washington State 2.5 Number of player arrests: USC 2 - Washington State 0
At least the Cougars have a chance for one victory this season - the Apple Cup game November 22nd against winless Washington. By the way, can anyone think of a proper nickname for perhaps the worst BCS conference matchup ever? This year's Apple Cup will make the Old Oaken Bucket game between the equally pathetic IU and Purdue look like the Rumble in the Jungle.
The Shots FANTASY Update: Edgerrin Who? Def. Plax On, Plax Off, 91-89
If you look at my league’s transaction list, I acquired Mewelde Moore at 11:37 on Sunday morning. I made this move because I was going to sit Ronnie Brown against Baltimore’s top-rated rush defense, and was looking for an alternate. After staring at my lineup until the noon deadline, I never pulled the trigger. Instead, I played Ronnie Brown (27 yards rushing, 1 catch) over Mewelde Moore (134 total yards, 3 TD) and it cost me a victory. One last second move that I did pull the trigger on was replacing Gus Frerotte (4 INT) with Dan Orlovsky (14 pts), and the 2000 Connecticut Mr. Football was outstanding. If I had not caught Steven Jackson on a huge fluke week (38 pts), I would’ve won easily.
Hindsight is 20-20, but a Mewelde start would've meant a W
Fantasy NASCAR, still in 5th place – 288 points
Scored a 1-2 finish from Jimmie Johnson (110 pts) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88 pts) to keep hope alive of a podium finish with just four races left. I’m just 31 points out of 4th place, but will need some major help to catch McCauley, who is 182 points clear.
Yes Sirs! And D’AntoniMustache****, Fantasy NBA
I have joined two leagues this year, one with my fellow Knicks blog nerds at Posting & Toasting and the other with a couple of friends from college. The 2nd team name is similar to my Fantasy NASCAR team name, and is one that I can’t say in this column (because of vulgarity and because I want to keep my job). Both teams draft this week.
The Shots What to Watch this week:
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, Wednesday
Nothing says Fall Classic like Game 1 of the World Series at...Tropicana Field? Lack of tradition aside, this still has the makings of a fun matchup for die-hard baseball fans. While FOX can't be thrilled with their guaranteed lack of ratings, I'm looking forward to seeing some of MLB's best young players like Cole Hamels, Evan Longoria, BJ Upton, and Matt Garza. I'll take the Rays in 6.
Oklahoma State at Texas, Saturday
The winner of this game won't only get a huge leg-up in the BCS Title race, but the winning quarterback will immediately be the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. Okie St. QB Zac Robinson may be the best player that you've never heard of, completing 70% of his passes for almost 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns along with 5 rush TD. The Big 12 is so strong this season that there is a great possiblity that a one-loss team from this league could find themselves playing for a National Championship (as long as that team isn't Texas Tech, then I'm cool with it).
Somebody get this kid a PR man
NY Giants at Pittsburgh, Sunday
This is a great chance for both of these teams to prove they belong among the NFL's elite. The defending champion Giants (I still love saying that) and the Steelers have combined to beat just one team over .500 this season - Giants over Redskins in Week 1. It's the start of a cruical three-game stretch for the G-Men (@Pittsburgh, Dallas, @Philadelphia), and a chance for Pittsburgh to keep the Ravens at bay atop the AFC North.
The Shots YouTube Clips this week:
Sports related –
Is there no end to the worldwide conspiracy to get an SEC team into the BCS National Championship game?
Non-sports related –
I couldn’t think of what else to put here, but I’ve had this song in my head all week.
The Shots Chick Pick this week: Carmella DeCesare Garcia
I think Jeff is doing just fine. I'd like to see TO do better than that.
See you next week.
Listen to Derek as he hosts the Xtra Large Lunch, every weekday from noon to 1 PM on XL 950!
