13-and Oh No!!

TCU Horned Frogs Co-National Champs?

The unthinkable happened on New Years Day. The Horned Frogs from Texas Christian University beat the Wisconsin Badger in the Rose Bowl. TCU finished the season 13-0 and I believe should be considered Co-National champs with the winner of the BCS National Championship game between Auburn and Oregon. No one will vote for the Horned Frogs in the coaches poll because the consensus is they can't hang with the competition of the "big schools". However TCU proved that on any given Saturday, a team can rise up a beat another team. Wisconsin should have dominated that game. Their offensive line was bigger and made highways for their running backs. But instead of standing there and letting the offensive overpower them, Gary Patterson told his team to go around them and use their speed, which Wisconsin had no answer for. Patterson has built TCU into a power program but mainstream fans don't want them to get recognition. I find it interesting how everyone loves March Madness and the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl but don't want a playoff in college football. I have friends who are upset that TCU won and Boise St. was ranked in the top 10 most of the year. They can't stand the small school in football but root for them in basketball. The problem is the small school has won five of the last seven games against BCS conferences in bowl games. And for that reason alone the smaller school should be embraced by everyone, and playoff should be enacted to get to a "True and Pure" national champ. Sadly, now TCU will move on to the Big East in 2012 and they will no longer be the little guy on the block. But it was fun while it lasted and hopefully everyone took notice that football is football and it doesn't matter what conference you are in.

The End Zone

1. Devin Hester or any Special Team player a Hall of Famer?

KDC: This is a tough one! There have been some major game changers like Hester every couple years, however, they never seem to dominate more than 2-3 years of their special teams play before mysteriously disappearing as quickly as they came. While the HOF obviously didn’t foresee these types of huge impact players, I still don’t see how they can bump someone out who plays every down at a level of excellence few can match.

Momo: Adam Vinateri will be in the Hall of Fame, so many clutch kicks has cemented his legacy. Hester on the other hand is a tough one. The only way I see Hester making the Hall of Fame is by returning an unforseen number like 25 of 30 kicks. What hurts him was a mediocore cornerback and reciever, if he became avergae at reciever, then maybe his chance increases. The game has never seen anything like him on kick and punt returns.

2. The Eagles-Giants game, the best game of the year!! Boy, were we wrong about this one.

KDC: Mea culpa. Besides the total confidence the Eagles players have in Vick (& Desean Jackson will never get a punt kicked toward him for the rest of his life), it says much more about a Giants defense that was gassed by the 4th quarter and a Giants offense that kept going 3-and-out. Simply, the Giants aren’t ready for prime time playoffs. The punter is the obvious goat, but no one played up to the necessary level in the 4th quarter. They should all be fired. I can only hope my Packers can put them out of everyone’s misery this Sunday.

Momo: That game was probably the best of the year! Andy Reid's young team is playing loose and confident late in the season which can make others teams a little nervous. The Giants are a tough team to figure. Like the Chargers, you never know what team is going to show up. That is the kind of loss where Coughlin could be on his way out.

3. More valuable to his team: Troy Polamula or Ed Reed?
KDC: Not going there. Both team MVPs nearly every game. That said, isn’t it amazing that we’re even discussing how safeties can consistently be the key to their team’s success? Not a MLB and not a QB (both necessary), but a small, speedy man who is fearless? That would be an impossible conversation even 10 years ago.

Momo: I'm not afraid of this one, unlike you! I would say Polamula simply because he is an all-round safety. Unlike Reed, Troy will come up and punish running backs. Ed Reed does not like to tackle. The amazing thing that both guys do in the passing game is take away 3/4 of the field. They both are primetime Hall of Famers, but Troy gets the edge because of his hitting.

4. Is an 18 game schedule a forgone conclusion?
KDC: Sadly, I think it is & it will be a tragic mistake. This is where capitalism becomes outright greed. NFL owners nominate themselves as the poster children of greed for all those interested in spreading the wealth. In the meantime, more players will get injured, more coaches will burn out & more fans will feel gouged. Almost no one wins but the guys at the top.

Momo: It is coming and I think it will hurt the game some too. Of coure they will have to expand rosters, (which will actually help kill off any competition like the UFL) but think about how many good quarterbacks you will have to have just to make it through the season. The fans will like it because it’s more meaniful games plus the preseason is shorter. Maybe a better option would be to expand the playoff by adding two more wild card team. At least owners would get more revenue that way and fans still get the game love.

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas from Momo's Musings Sports!!

The End Zone

1. The Jets strength coach got suspended for tripping a Dolphins player and more is being made about this than the Jets overall play over the last two weeks. Is everyone missing the real story?

KDC: It appears something has been going on all year. I'm guessing Rex Ryan knew something about them lining up at the sideline during punt returns, but didn't ever foresee that idiot purposely tripping a player. Expect another rule from the NFL on this.

Momo: This tripping story is overshadowing the Jets overall play. Sanchez has been nearly benched, they haven’t scored a touchdown in the last 10 or 12 quarters. Their defense got shredded by the Patriots and everyone is talking about the tripping of an opposing player. Rex Ryan and his team actually is benefitting from the coverage that Alosi is receiving. I’m not even sure with the Jets remaining schedule that they make the playoffs.


2. Can anyone beat the Patriots?

KDC: Besides the Cleveland Browns? Colt McCoy is back. Ya gotta believe! :)
I think the Saints can. But probably not many others. Pittsburgh never matches up well w/New England, I think the Ravens aren't quite there any more, the Falcons are too young (probably) & unless the Giants or some other team suddenly solidifies, the Patriots have a great shot at Championship #4 under Belicheck. Please God, no!

Momo: The problem I see, and this going to get really technical is defenses don’t play the Patriots right. The Steelers should match up well with them but they don’t play man to man against the Pats. You have to knock those small receivers down and not let them get their little five yard passing plays. Also, you have to blitz the living daylights out of Brady. You cannot give him time to pick you apart.

Its interesting that the two teams who are not afraid of the Pats offense and a play them tough are the Colts and the Ravens. Two defenses that are polar opposites of each other BUT they play their game and don’t let the Pats dictate their offense on them.


3. What showdown this weekend are you looking forward to- Jax-Indy, Eagles-Giants, or Saints-Ravens?

KDC: Jacksonville-Indy could be a great dogfight, but Jax has the momentum. I think the Saints-Ravens will prove to us where both teams stand for long-term playoff aspirations. At present, I'd say the Saints will win by a touchdown or more.
For some reason, I don't give 2 figs about the Eagles-Giants game.

Momo: I agree on the Jax-Indy should be a good one. This is it for the Colts and I think since they are playing at home they will come out blazing. However, the Jags will probably upset them because of their running game.
The Saints –Ravens is interesting because the Ravens defense is not what it used to be. The intriguing part will be if the Ravens offense can keep pace and maybe steal a win. It’s kind of odd that the Ravens are transitioning to a offense team with a good but not great defense.

Florida Takes Another Bite Out Of Cam Newton

A little over a year ago a great friend of mine and reader of this blog predicted that Urban Meyer would leave Florida. Bill T. was right because Meyer resigned from coaching on Tuesday citing family reasons. Good for Urban,to be able to put his life into perspective and do what's right for him and his family is honorable. Now we can only hope that the University of Florida could learn to do the honorable thing and stop trying to steal Cam Newton's moments by upstaging him on one the biggest nights in college football. By announcing that they found Meyer's replacement, Will Muschamp, the Gators completely overshadowed the Heisman Trophy and Cam Newton. Hasn't this school done enough to Newton and his family by leaking the cheating scandal and the near expulsion for theft? Apparently not. I don't have an issue with the Gators hiring Muschamp. By all accounts he is a great guy and a really good defensive coordinator. The hiring is decent, not as flashy as some alums want but it is a good hire. The problem I have is the timing of the announcement. This was Cam's moment, just like it has been all year for him and Auburn and to let the press know you hired Urban's replacement on the same day as the awards ceremony is classless by the school. You cannot blame the 24 hour news cycle for letting the story get out, it is all by design. Florida football had a down year and with Urban leaving there was a definite uncertainty hanging around the program. Want a better way to keep recruits and get some buzz, announce you got a new coach during the Heisman trophy ceremony. That will keep people talking and give some momentum back to the program. All of this just shows how each of this school's do not care about what is good for the conference, they only care about what's good for their school. That's why the Newton information about his tenure at Florida and his recruitment at Miss St. got out. Both schools wanted to take him and Auburn out.

The University of Florida should apologize to Cam and his family and to the Downtown Athletic club for upstaging them on their big night. I doubt they will because in their mind "Its great to be a Florida Gator!!"But if Auburn would have announced they hired Bo Jackson during the Heisman ceremony when Tim Tebow won the award, the University of Florida would have demanded an investigation and apology.

Cecil Newton did the right thing by not robbing Cam of his moment. It didn't matter because the Gators took it from him, again.

The End Zone

Here's another round of the End Zone!!

1.It seems that every two years Lovie Smith is on the hot seat and the Bears turn in a magical run. Are you buying or selling the Bears?

KDC: Reluctantly, I’m buying. When you asked earlier about the most overlooked team, I mistakenly said the Falcons. It was the Bears & they’ve only gotten stronger since then. Assuming they stay healthy, I see them tying or winning the NFC North (w/my beloved Packers, who I think will beat them in the rematch). Give Mike Martz some love for getting Jay Cutler (more) consistent.

Momo: I’m selling, although I reserve the right to change my mind. The Bears O-line block some weeks, look atrocious the next. The one constant has been their defense. I think they will lose to the Packers and the division, that is mainly because of the inconsistency of Cutler. Martz and he don’t have the receivers nor the run game that frighten people. They will still make the playoffs despite their offensive issues.

2. Although they lost this past Sunday (Indy did win Thursday night), still got the Chargers and Colts making the playoffs?

KDC: The Chargers are probably doomed this year. When a team starts out so slow every year, ya gotta look at the coach. You can’t plan on December being perfect every year. This is the year it catches up with them. (Honestly? I’m rooting for the Raiders making the playoffs just because they’re fun & feisty.

A few weeks back, I confidently stated the Colts would make it again. And they probably will, but I don’t think anyone realized how beat up they were until the last 2 weeks. They’ll probably do it because Jacksonville will play like Jacksonville again, not because they’re playoff caliber.

Momo: If I am a Charger fan I ask for a refund for their first 8 home games!! This team starts slow every year and then decides that they will play the right way and make a run. With that said, I think they will still make the playoffs and surprisingly will probably win their division. Their schedule is so weak their last four, if they beat the Chiefs on Sunday, they will only be a game back. Never heard the Raiders described as fun and feisty. Dysfunctional yes, but not fun.
The Colts will run the table as well with their beat up team and will just squeak into the playoffs. Shouldn’t Jim Caldwell be nominated for coach of the year with all the injuries this team has faced, he and Peyton have kept this team steady and in the hunt.

3. It’s been almost three weeks since we spoke about Favre, now we have to bring it back up, do you think the league will suspend him for the Sterger controversy?

KDC: Honestly, I think they’ll let the year end & then announce whatever penalties they deem necessary.

Momo: What we know is that Favre only wants to get to 300 starts and then he will sit. Sterger’s camp want to take that away from him and I don’t believe the league will comply. We both believe that the league wants this to go away after the season but a lawsuit pending could change everything.

4. Any racial significance to Peyton Hillis being the first white running back to get to a 1000 yards since Craig James in 1985?

Momo: I think it is because a lot of white kids are told not to play running back. Hillis is proving that the color of your skin should not be a factor on where you play. The great part is that he is probably was always told that he could only play fullback and is proving all the naysayers wrong. This is 20 years in the making and it should be celebrated. Hillis is a good running back whether white or black.

KDC: I don't think the average (non-Browns) fan even realized that. Hopefully, like the stupid black QB stigma, coaches will simply assess a player by his talents & not his skin color & line up his talents with their playbook. I still don't get how so many coaches are so inflexible that they impose their system on a new team w/out assessing the teams talents first. It's the same mindset. White = FB, Black = anything but QB, etc.

5th Quarter

BCS And All Its Fun

1.The BCS Got It Right: Sometimes I know it seems as if I am against the BCS but the concept can be better. But this time the flawed system actually got the best matchup in the title game. My biggest beef with the BCS is it would have kept TCU out if either Auburn or Oregon lost. That didn't happen so TCU is regulated to to the Rose Bowl, which doesn't make any sense to me (more on that later). Now we are dealing with the game being played on the tenth of January!!! Are you telling me that we can't decide a championship in the month of December? The Cotton Bowl, a New Years Day tradition, is being played on the 7th!!! Finals for college students are this week and next, so you mean to tell me that the students athletes need 3 weeks of practice? That's why this system is a sham. Most college football fans stop caring in December and go into full fledged NFL-mode for the rest of the season. The Cartel needs to figure out a way to get December back, because right now, no one cares.

2. Political Bowl Process: Nebraska plays Washington again, Boise gets shipped to Las Vegas, and they destroy a typical bowl matchup in the Rose Bowl. The bowl process is purely political and its sickening. Nebraska this year already thumped Washington in Washington but yet they are playing again because Cornhusker fans travel better than Mizzou's. How is this a fair process? The matchup doesn't even make sense because Nebraska DOMINATED the Huskies in September. So you mean to tell me that Boise St. fans wouldn't have gone to California to support their team? No they ship to Nevada as a nice consolation prize. Also how about having Stanford and Wisconsin play in the Rose Bowl, keep the matchup normal. Instead they send TCU, which could have invaded Florida and dismantled Va Tech in the Orange Bowl. It just make more sense to put Stanford in the Rose Bowl and reward them for such a great season. Temple got overlooked with an 8-4 record for teams with records of 6-6, while a team the beat in UConn goes to a BCS bowl. I don't have a problem with UConn going, but because Temple isn't a national football power so we will just overlook them. Let's not reward them for being above average. That's why the system is so jacked up. A playoff would keep the sanity and stop the madness for a money grab.

3. On a football note, and this is a quote: Nebraska will miss the Big 12 and will rue the day it entered the Big 10. The way this team is currently constructed and recruited it can dominate the Big 12 North. Going to the Big Ten, Nebraska will see that they will not dominate their competition as they did in the North. The Cornhuskers are a running team that cannot not pass, the Big Ten has some teams that can pass, and they are going to have to play tougher teams in conference year in and year out. Every year they are mandated to play Penn St., Wisconsin and Iowa. All these teams have really good balance on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe that's why Pelini did not want to go to that conference. You go from a one, two loss team a year to at least a three loss team. Having Iowa St. and Kansas on your schedule looks a lot better than Illinois and Michigan.

The End Zone

1. So when I posed the question about how good the NFC South was, you criticized me heavily. now that the Falcons have beaten your beloved Packers and have the inside track for home field, you say what?

Kdc: Um. Check past End Zone posts. You mentioned the AFC South, not the NFC South. But I get your drift. Atlanta (sadly) deserved their win against my Packers (despite the official’s missed call on the Gonzales catch on 4th down). They should cruise to home field advantage (& deserve it so far).

The Saints righted themselves quickly without Reggie Bush, so I can see them returning to the Super Bowl with Reggie Bush.

As stated in by me in mid-October, the Bucs were the surprise team with staying power who looks like they’re just not going to make it into the playoffs. But they’re a great story and next year they should be mighty.

Definitely the best division in the NFC.

Momo: So you might be right about that post, however Atlanta has been overlooked by most people in the league as a quality team. They are not flashy, just solid on both sides of the ball. Even their head coach name is not flashy, Mike Smith, might as well be John Doe. People outside of Atlanta couldn't’t pick that guy out of a lineup. Another thing is Matt Ryan is virtually unbeatable at home with a 19-1 record. They have already beaten the Saints in New Orleans, so with that said they have the tiebreaker. If they get home field it will be tough to beat them, just as the Packers found out

2. The NFL not suspending Andre Johnson for fighting is....

Kdc: Ridiculous. Andre Johnson might be the nicest guy on the planet as everyone is saying, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior on the field. Should’ve been at least 1 game & a fine for Johnson & Finnegan both. Hines Ward is correct – the NFL is being hypocritical.

Momo: The league not suspending shows that they are only looking out for their network. If the Texans were playing on Fox, CBS, or ESPN he would have been suspended. I know he could have would have appealed the suspension but by not suspending him you just sent the message that fighting is ok but hitting a quarterback or any type of hit on the field is a more punishable offense.

3.Should a team below .500 who wins there division be allowed to go to the playoffs? (NFC West)

Kdc: Why have divisions if they don’t mean anything? As ridiculous as the NFC West is right now, either the division is important or not. However, I agree w/Sports Illustrated’s Peter King – that doesn’t mean they should host the game if their record is inferior.

Momo: Ok, this is near and dear to my heart because the division in question has the two teams of my childhood and young adulthood are the ones we are talking about. This will shock you but I don’t think they should because you are rewarding mediocrity. How can you have a team that is 10-6 in another division and tell them thanks for playing but an inferior team is reaping the rewards of the playoffs. It’s almost the same thing in college football where a .500 team gets to participate in a bowl game. Stop giving out participation trophies.

4. Josh McDaniels taping the 49ers and then losing and also saying the Patriots used to do the same thing is...

Kdc: Correct, but who cares. Patriots got nailed on it & so should McDaniel’s.

Momo: Dead on and completely unsportsmanlike. McDaniel’s is skating on thin ice and the only thing that could save him is a work stoppage. You cannot be a leader of men and decide and try to cheat to win.