-I'll start with I watched a lot more college football than I normally do this holiday weekend. That being said, our writers here – Andy Martinez and Mario Puig (to name a couple) know a ton more than me when it comes to the subject but I'll impose on you some of my observations.
-Did Alphonso Smith look terrible on Thursday? Absolutely. Has he done something to wrong either Jim Nantz or Phil Simms? Absolutely, methinks. They actually put together a montage of him missing tackles and getting beat. Hey, if you screw up as a professional athlete, you deserve to be scrutinized to the Nth degree. I just don't know if I've seem someone get blasted that badly in a long time.
-I called for a downgrade of Tom Brady a few weeks back and though he had a good game abusing Smith Thursday, let's not think he's a top-10 QB going forward. This was only his second 300-yard game and the Patriots now have a good running attack.
-I discussed it last week but now can we all admit that there isn't a myth; Darrelle Revis is a shut-down corner? The question is, who does he shadow on New England, Miami and Pittsburgh over the next three weeks?
-I'm torn about the Boise State loss from Friday. On the one hand there was no way a team who thinks they're the best team in the country should lose to the 19th ranked team, even on the road. Other than the obvious field goal botches, I wonder if overall they were let down by watching the two potential upsets get thwarted in the second half. On the other hand, I would have preferred to see four undefeated teams which should have gotten us closer to a playoff.
-I'm pretty sure I've talked about the beast that is Nick Fairley (Auburn) here before but keep an eye on J.J. Watt from Wisconsin. He looked absolutely dominant Saturday (of course anyone can against NW ) and has the size and ability to make a difference on Sundays.
-My brother-in-law won two state titles here in New York playing for Aquinas. They won another state championship Saturday and the defensive star was a kid named Jarron Jones. He'll be coming to a big-time college near you soon, at six-foot, seven-inches tall and a 300+ lb. lineman. Jones doesn't look "husky" and is |STAR|only|STAR| a junior.
-Again, why was there a question on limiting Kevin Love's minutes?
-I was sad to see Brad Childress go; I'll have to find another easy coaching target (Andy Reid?) to poke fun at. I'm not sure at this point I'd hire Childress as a coordinator, given his penchant for Brett Favre-like drama.
-Not sure what I'm looking more forward to in the New Year; in this time of depleted TV (love Human Target) - "The Cape" or "V"? Love "Modern Family", can you give me a better comedy on mainstream TV?
-James Jones should have about five more touchdowns this year, from what I've seen. There was a solid pass rush yesterday which induced runs, but Aaron Rodgers is going to get hurt if he keeps running this much. Nice move by Michael Turner on his fourth-down TD run to take it to the outside with so much beef on the defensive line.
-I'd love to hear any opinions on "Boardwalk Empire." Seems to have some wheels but I'm not sure. I can't accept Steve Buschemi (a face only a mother could love) as a lead actor in a series. I love the scenery, outfits, et al. from the era. It sounds |STAR|beyond|STAR| weird but why does Nelson figure into the picture as my favorite character?
-I'm thinking Kerry Collins might be rushed back into starting duty. Randy Moss is still dead to me. 'Twas a bittersweet day for Arian Foster owners yesterday, again methinks. The Texans got first and goal from inside the five twice (via Arian Foster no less) and immediately throw for the TD. I'm starting to think Owen Daniels will have little or no impact from here on out. Cortland Finnegan has always been a dirty player so I can't say I was sorry to see Andre Johnson throw some shots at him. I'm glad to see Johnson had the knowledge to rip him helmet off first as opposed to breaking his hand on it.
-I have little to say about the Bills/Pitt game. I'm glad Steve Johnson got a new haircut which probably threw off his equilibrium/balance on that dropped ball TO-WIN-THE-GAME-IN-OVERTIME. "Why So Serious" this week Steve? Nevertheless, I'm used to it and it doesn't surprise me to still see people drive around with "no goal" bumper stickers here in the B-LO (referencing the Sabres loss in Game 6 against Dallas).
-I'm beginning to buy the fact that a change in a head coach means you should back that team ATS that week. Also, starting to think Peyton Hillis is something special and Matt Ryan is good at home. Captain Obvious on duty here.
-Have family over and want to impress with a recipe this holiday season? Brown a pound of Jimmy Dean pork sausage with a pound of ground beef. Throw it in the crock pot with a pound of Velveeta and a quart of mild salsa and cook 'til bubbly. Serve with Tostitos scoops and thank me in the comments of an upcoming writing. Of course, this is a heart attack waiting to happen so consider this when the in-laws visit. J/K, or maybe not.
-If you have three syllables in your name (four is preferable), Sam Bradford can throw you a TD-pass. Stephen Jackson owners must have loved to see Kenneth Darby score the one-yard TD run.
-Outside of best-ball and total points leagues, you need to leave any head-to-head league that counts Week 17.
-I was starting to dig Keyshawn Johnson as an announcer until he picked Seattle to win the division and said the Giants wouldn't make the playoffs. It's 20/20 now, but come on; do we have a little too much faith in Pete Carroll here? Did USC really lose to Notre Dame Saturday?
-If I haven't spoken my word, I like Kanye West, his work is sick to say the least. I'm quite sure I've said this before. I'll be downloading a bunch of his stuff this week.
-Chris Liss pointed out in the live blog that there was a boxing match on Saturday. Did anyone else know that? Or care?
-Matt Cassel owes at least 50 percent of his paycheck to Dwayne Bowe. I wrote a blog during the preseason with the cheesy "Say No to Knowshon" title. Of course my weasel little brother takes him and beats me the one week he goes off for my only loss in my hometown league. Seriously, he has one game over 60 rushing yards this year and his season-high is a 17-yard carry. There's no size to break tackles and no speed to outrun the defense so you'll understand my pessimistic attitude towards him going forward
-If you don't like soccer, read on. American Clint Dempsey is single-handedly keeping Fulham out of the relegation zone in the English Premier League, scoring a second-half goal to salvage a point (tie) against Birmingham. Dempsey now has five goals on the season, which isn't bad considering only injuries have gotten him off the bench this season.
-Fun hockey game to watch on Friday, the Sabres and Leafs combined for 24 penalty minutes in the first period. Who says it's become a finesse game?
-For the third straight week, the Browns had another second-half let-down. Somehow they got away with it this time; they owe John Kasay a nice holiday gift. Speaking of which, I'd guess without looking up the numbers that kickers are doing a pretty bad job this year. Teams should assign two linebackers on the aforementioned Peyton Hillis going forward.
-Throw Josh McDaniels on the list of questionable/probable coaches to be fired (Kubiak, Lewis, Mangini, Fox, Del Rio…)
-Even though the Bears won, I'd put money on the Eagles winning the SB or the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the championship before the Bears do.
-There's a weird Jeff Fisher/Vince Young thing going on apparently. Since we've heard nothing from Young and a lot from Fisher, I'm guessing Young is at guilt here since we hear nothing but a supposed apologizing text. Even before the 0-6 start last year, there was zero reason to call for VY unless you like his negative TD:INT ratio.
-Being a pseudo-NCAA fan or missing anything with the pro game, feel free to critique me in the comments, on any level.