For the first time in a long time, a UFC event is being overshadowed – in a very big way – by a good old boxing match. It’s not that surprising, really – UFC 103 is a lousy card full of less than captivating fights without headline names, while the boxing match features the return of one of the top fighters of this or any time after a two year break against a stellar pound-for-pound star.
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Month: September 2009
That was a crazy game to end a crazy sporting Monday. There is, like the first game, a whole lot to digest in that one. Here are a few of those things:
1. Oakland played very straight forward defense, but it was shockingly effective for much of the game – The Chargers are supposed to be a world class offense, but Oakland thoroughly outplayed them, and they did it without doing anything fancy. The defensive scheme really just looked like a basic preseason package, but they played it with intensity and burning desire, and San Diego couldn’t manage to overcome it to nearly the extent that they should have. Part of what helped the Raiders was Richard Seymour. He might not be happy to be in Oakland, but you’d never guess it by the way he played. He was a beast. The exception to that defensive strength, of course, was on the last drive when the Raiders played a tentative, pathetic prevent package when they badly needed to hold the Chargers.
I just finished watching that crazy New England game. There is a lot to digest there, and it will take a few days, and probably a second viewing, to digest it all. Tom Brady mostly looked pretty good, though he was tentative in the first half. It was amazing how many passes he threw, and how well he connected with Randy Moss again after a year apart. He still has a lot of work to do, though. The biggest first impression from that game, though, is that the Bills didn’t deserve to lose that one. They were outplayed in most ways by the Patriots, but they were tough when it counted and they deserved better than that ending. Alex van Pelt may not have been much of a quarterback, but he did a remarkable job of getting a team ready after taking over the offensive coordinator gig just a week ago. Buffalo may not be nearly as bad as I thought they would be, and the Pats have a whole lot of work to do to prove they are still worthy of their reputation.
1. Rich Rodriguez is a very good coach. And Charlie Weis is a very bad one. Alright, I’ll admit, I didn’t need to learn either thing – I was already certain of both. Notre Dame owned Michigan in the first half, but were only up by three at the break. Michigan made effective adjustments at halftime, and came out as an entirely different team in the second half. Notre Dame made no noticeable changes. The fact that Weis couldn’t win this game in the fifth year of his program with a junior QB who was at the top of his class against a team in the second year of a total rebuild with a true freshman at the helm is a clear sign of just how pathetic Weis is.
Here are the weekend’s top college football stories as I see them:
Iowa (-6) at Iowa State – The Hawkeyes started the season ranked, but they looked truly awful last weekend. Which team is the real Iowa?
MVP – Drew Brees. I expect him to put up huge numbers again. That plus a division win should be enough to earn the guy a sympathy win here. He’s of course vulnerable to any of the big quarterbacks – most notably Tom Brady – or a running back like Adrian Peterson who could shoot the lights out.
I’m sitting here in a hotel room in Ontario watching the first NFL game of the long season. The Steelers have just scored a TD to break the scoreless tie. So far the game has been the defensive battle that we would have expected, though it has raised a couple of questions – most notably whether the Titans will have the potential to stop the pass rush at all this year or if Kerry Collins is going to wind up in a body bag. As I watch the rest of the game along with the beatdown that Georgia Tech is (or at least was) inflicting on Clemson it seems like a good time to look forward to what to expect for this very young NFL season. Over the next two days, then, let’s look at some predictions for what I see happening. Today I’ll look at teams, and tomorrow I’ll look at individual accomplishments:
I find it strange that Brett Favre has come out before the season even starts and hedged expectations. In an interview he has said that he isn’t certain that he is physically up for 16 games this year. Weall know that, of course, and he said the same thing when he initially decided not to come back, but it seems odd for him to acknowledge it now – not exactly a way to inspire confidence with his new team. As much as I hate to give him the attention he craves, it will be fascinating to watch what he can do this year. It will be especially interesting to see what he has in the tank for the remaining games after the team has played Green Bay twice. I’m pessimistic about this experiment, but cautiously so.
Richard Seymour is supposedly AWOL after having been traded from New England to the Raiders. I can hardly guess why a guy would be unhappy abut that trade after having spent his whole career in New England. He’ll show up eventually because he has no good options otherwise, but it might take him a while to come to terms with the kick in the teeth that that trade was.
I really don’t understand why Jeff Garcia has so much trouble sticking with a team. When he plays he wins – as simple as that. He’ll land somewhere and he’ll do well when there. As ridiculous as it was seeing him get cut I’m sure he couldn’t be anything other than thrilled to get away from the circus in Oakland. Especially if he can land somewhere like New England.
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