Can You Remember A Time...

When Baylor fans were so jacked up about playing the Longhorns and Texas fans were so freaked out about playing the Bears? What, maybe 20 years ago or so? Strange days indeed...

Make no mistake Texas fans - you have more than enough reasons to come out tight on Saturday night. Can you imagine what would happen to Longhorn nation if Baylor came in and handed Texas it's 3rd straight home loss? My word, someone's head would explode (someone's other than mine of course).

"But Ryan, Baylor has a horrible defense so we should be able to score points." Mmkay, go back and tell me what Iowa State's defense is ranked? I'll give you a hint, it's a triple digit number.

"But Ryan, our defense is fast enough to contain Griffin." Just like it was fast enough to contain whoever the hell plays QB for UCLA? Let me paint you a picture - Baylor is better than Iowa State and they're better than UCLA. They are. And that should give you reason to be a tad scared.

One thing I will say though - Texas fans haven't seen Mack be this vocal and critical of his staff and players before, certainly not in his time here. This new territory for this program. Will be interesting because Mack essentially did call out everyone except for the cheerleaders and Bevo: coaches, players, fans alike - you've all been called out. The question is, can you respond.

I'll be honest, I don't mean to bring on the doom and gloom, but I do mean to make sure you all have your eyes wide open - this should be a dog fight. I think Texas wins this game, but I don't envision some pounding that we'd all like to see with everything clicking - not at all. I predict a fairly ugly game that Texas pulls out, but at no point will fans be too comfortable....think Arkansas State home opener a couple of years ago: it was one of those that we looked up and realized, this is a one possession game with 5 minutes to go and they have the ball....

Texas - 31 (go ahead and notch a defensive touchdown in here)
Baylor - 26

Now on to the important games of the week...

• How is it possible that Tech/Aggies aren't on television? This is one of the top 12 most entertaining match ups of any given year. I'm shocked and appalled.
  
• I think Oregon drops 50 on USC. I'm just saying.
  
• Michigan State's run comes to an end here - they've had a pretty good run and will continue to do so, but I don't see this team going undefeated. If they waltz into Iowa City and knock off the Hawkeyes, they'll shoot up my board. That's a pretty solid team all around based on what I've seen - certainly no flash appeal a la Newton or Robinson or Pryor, but a consistent team that executes.
  
• Emotional win for Mizzou last week beating OU after about 100 years, but asking them to stay focused and go into Lincoln and win is a tall order. Put me down for a tight Husker victory here. Mizzou is still for real though.
  
• When was the last time the world's largest outdoor cocktail party wasn't even a blip on the radar? I don't remember. Let me flip a coin here.......heads. Georgia by 2.
• I've seen numerous talking heads highlighting the Auburn at Ole Miss game as the upset special this weekend and that's a good call. Not sure the Rebels have the athletes to keep up, but this has let down game written all over it. Of course I remember when Texas entered into the proverbial let down games in the past and VY simply wouldn't let them lose (see every game we ever played against Okie State the last 4 years). I've said this before I see a whole lot of VY in Cam Newton and that will have to be Auburn's saving grace. Either way I see a damn tight game here.
  
• Looking for a fun game to watch this weekend? Oklahoma State and Kansas State square off and I can promise you one thing and one thing only - there will be little to no defense being played.

Fa-vre...
Very well may be heading for a nasty downfall. I hope not, but each day this story continues with the junk texting is another day that simply looks like something fishy is going on. The only question is can this team keep from completely unraveling. It's tough - they've got one hell of a team, but if they implode look for Childress to be out, Moss to be out and some pretty damn good rebuilding to take place.

Fantasy Update
Right now, today, I've got 3 quarterbacks on my roster, 2 defenses and no backup WR. Yes, that's the state that my team is in. And it's not a good state....not at all. We'll see what happens....wait, I can tell you what will happen, I'll get creamed, maybe fall ass backwards into another win, but get punked the rest of the year. Ugh. Let's just come out with it, I have no idea what I'm doing.

Baseball
I don't want to be Debbie Downer here because the Ranger have made an unbelievable run considering what they've dealt with throughout the year, but man, what the hell was that in game 2? They couldn't even try to end the game quicker (which is what they looked like they were doing).

Non-Sports Thoughts for the Week
I can smell hunting season....it's just....right......there.....

Time to Think

Well, we've all had some time to digest this mess - I've watched highlights and read box scores again and again and after some decompression time, I've come to some conclusions...

Coaching Staff
I've spent a lot of time defending them this year - not so much because I think they're doing a bang up job, but mainly because I think the bulk of the issues are with the players. I still think this way, but here's where I'm going to get on the coaches: this season is lost. Done. We may win out or lose out or anything in between and it doesn't much matter. Mack, you've spoiled us with 10-win seasons year in and year out, BCS bowl appearances, etc. Neither of those are in the cards this year so let's start over starting today.

If I'm Mack and company I'm throwing out the depth chart. Starters is a term that is reintroduced each week. From where we're sitting, we see players step out there and make big plays and then we never see them again. Perhaps they are dumb and can't grasp more than 1-2 plays and that's fine....but get rid of them. I mean off the team, not on the bench. I would much rather have a hard worker who WANTS the job and can grasp the system vs a really fast, good athlete who thinks he DESERVES the job and can't read a playbook much less the side of a cereal box.

The coaches aren't doing a good enough job of ridding the arrogance from the team or finding the players who can bring a fire and leadership (which is non-existent right now).

Offense
There is nothing going right here. Nothing. Nothing is working, nothing to build on and certainly nothing to be optimistic about. This comes down to 3 main issues (and yes, I realize this isn't brilliant insight - it's basic, common sense): 1) our receivers are beyond awful. The catching issues aside, the bigger issue is they have absolutely no idea how to run a route. None. You can bitch at the coaches for throwing short passes and in a sense you'd be justified, but when we need 5 yards and the receiver runs a 4-yard route, it's on the receivers. Period. The route running is the bigger issue right now. 2) our offensive line is really, really bad. I don't know what else to say about this. Which brings me to...

3) I've been defending Gilbert all season and giving him the benefit of the doubt - he's young and inexperienced and getting more experienced every week. But I'm backing off of this a little bit after yesterday. I'll take it a step farther - Gilbert is pretty damn overrated. He had 3 picks yesterday (1 wasn't his fault), but should have had 3 more. He makes bad decisions and I don't see that getting much better. More importantly - he is HORRIBLE at seeing the field. I mean he's really bad at this. I do like that he's running the ball more and making plays with his feet, but he has to be able to make throws and he can't do it. There's having a strong arm, which he has, and then there's touch which he has none of. That pick he threw in the end zone was the perfect play, with the match up the coaches wanted and it was executed beautifully....until Gilbert threw the ball. I'm not saying Case McCoy gives them a better chance to win, but what I will suggest is that if they keep losing (which they most certainly will based on what I've seen), give someone else a shot to see what they can do. Gilbert hasn't had to compete with anyone to get this job. Maybe, just maybe, that competition will motivate him a bit more. Case McCoy looks like he's 13 (like his brother did when he arrived) and I'm scare of him, literally, getting killed. But something has to be done about this air of entitlement in the locker room.

Defense
And all of a sudden the tarnish is wearing off the Mr. Muschamp. That's a little much, but teams are starting to figure these guys out. This is another area where the arrogance needs to be fixed - there's a whole lot of trash talking after a play is made....but unfortunately those seem to be few and far between these days.

Another issue with the defense, that has less to do with them and more to do with the offense, is that they are on the field the ENTIRE game it seems. It's no secret that the defense has been and will have to carry this team to any victories that we may pick up the rest of this year. I can't help but think that the defense resents the offense. Maybe I'm wrong (hope I'm wrong), but I feel it.

What Does It All Mean...
Not sure, but as crazy as this sounds, I'm struggling to find an "easy win" on the schedule. Florida International looks to be the only gimme. Baylor has a good offense, a fiery, risk-taking coach and a whole lot of losing years against the Horns. Sound familiar? Sounds like Iowa State to me. Oklahoma State looks scary. Someone told me, "yeah, but their defense is horrible". Iowa State's defense was ranked like 110. Sooo.....there's that. Kansas State - write that down as a loss right now. No debate or discussion. Loss. And the Aggies - as much of a mess as they are, they are more than capable of beating Texas in Austin. 7-5 season. And that's all I have to say about that...
Around the Country

• This just in - Auburn is real good. And Cam Newton looks like VY went back in time to his sophomore year and put on an Auburn uniform. That cat is good.
  
• I don't want to say I told you so guys at Ella's birthday party, but I told you so - Mizzou is for real this year and OU still has some question marks.
  
• Michigan State is another team that has turned a corner - the Spartan team of old would have lost that game and likely would have fallen apart by now.
• We appear to be on a collision course for a 3-way tie for the Big 10. That conference championship game can't come soon enough for that mess of a conference.
  
• Remember all you a-holes out there who told me how stupid I was when at the beginning of the year I said Boise State would crush Texas? Yeah, I remember. I'm still sticking with my prediction that Boise will be playing for a national title.
  
• And one more thing on the Broncos - their conference could compete with the Big East year in and year out - the Big East is horrible.
  
• My 5 Faves: Oregon, Boise State, Auburn, Wisconsin, Ohio State

NFL
So here's my take on the over-exaggerated hitting issue. I see validity in both sides of this argument. Let's summarize the facts:

• Head injuries/concussions, and injuries in general, are most definitely up over the last decade or so.
• The league is and will continue to deal with the issue of doing more to take care of retired players when their bodies take such a beating throughout their careers. Their stance gives them something to hang their hat on in that discussion.
  
• Defensive players are taught and coached to separate the ball from the carrier/receiver when ever possible - ie force fumbles.
  
• Players are so much stronger, faster and bigger than they used to be.
  
• Football is a violent game.
  

I don't think anyone would argue with the point that players, coaches, owners, the league, fans, etc. never wants to see someone get injured. Whether it's a broken leg, sprained ankle, concussion or even a more serious neck/head injury - NO ONE wants to see that. However, to James Harrison's point, defensive players are taught to "bring the pain". In other words, go out and hit the offensive players so hard it wears them down. That's the point of the game. Wear down the offense and limit their game plan and what they can do. That's simple.

Here's the thing though - you simply can't just take your helmet and use it as a "weapon" of sorts. Period. Where I think the league has screwed up was the positioning of this - saying they're watching how players use their helmets, shoulder or forearms as weapons. Now I don't disagree with the forearm piece - they've been calling that penalty for ages, especially when QBs get hit with the forearm. But shoulders? What? Isn't the point of having the shoulder pads is so you can hit people hard with them without injuring either player? That little distinction right there is what's causing the hub bub, in my opinion. The league had better be very careful with this...

Oh, and what about running backs? When a RB wants to pick up that one more yard to move the chains, what do they do? They lower their head and shoulders and run as hard as they can into the defensive player(s). Granted, the defensive players aren't "defenseless" in that sense which is the main area of focus, but still. Be ready to deal with that backlash and ambiguity.

And finally, something I heard on the Colin Cowherd show that I wholeheartedly agree with. As much as the general NFL fan loves the big hits, we don't tune into watch defensive slug matches. Some of us like that old school style, but the big ratings numbers come from high-flying offenses. Remember the Ravens/Giants super bowl in I think 2000? One of the lowest rated super bowls of the last 15 years. Remember when the Patriots won their first of their big run by beating the high-flying Rams (the Kurt Warner show) with a field goal at the end? One of the highest rated super bowls of the last 15 years. The point is, the bulk of the viewers want to see big, offensive shows. That's why offensive skill players get paid so much more than defensive players.


I'll Close On This...
Here's a new rule/law that needs to be implemented.....first, let me concede I have absolutely no idea how this "rule" gets implemented or anything like that, I'm just highlighting a troubling trend....I could care less who people root for. In fact, that's the best part of sports, all the different people who are passionate about their teams. But, if you root for a college team and you didn't go to school there, please try and tone it down just a bit. I hate to bring it up, but I think it's starting to get a tad out of hand. I'm just saying, people notice....and they hate it. Just something to keep in mind.

Have a great week - I'll be back before the weekend openly stressing about Baylor whipping Texas' ass.