Sunday Bliss
How sweet it is to have the NFL back in action - and what a great start. I've got all sorts of nuggets from Saturday's games (which I saw very little of) and of course the opening Sunday for the NFL. Let's jump in...
SEC Welcome Weekend:
I'll start with the game I actually did watch (recorded and caught it late) and that's the Gators at the Aggies. Coming into the season I saw this game as A&M's best chance to come into the conference with a "signature" win. However, coming into this week I changed my tune - I thought (and still do) that missing the first game of the season to a probable cupcake team and working off the rust was a big issue. (And for the record, as you hopefully heard on the podcast, I had Florida by 3 or 4).
With all of that said, I wouldn't necessarily say they had rust as much as Florida made the right adjustments. The Aggies were impressive out of the gate to say the least - and I suspect that half of College Station has already forgotten about Tannehill. This kid has a bright future. Lot of positives for the Aggies. However, that one thorn continues to stick - start fast, fade late. You will neither compete for, nor win any conference titles with that MO. They've got the right pieces - seemed like their defense had about 25 sacks - they just need to kick it up a notch after halftime.
On the flip side, I really think Florida is a mess. On paper this game was good - withstand the early adrenaline/emotional burst, keep it close, and wear them out. But they simply commit too many penalties and I question the condition they're in. I was surprised when I looked saw the box score to see Driscoll's numbers. Pretty solid game, but he's got happy feet. Big time. I think 2-3 of those sacks were squarely on him simply not reading the rush correctly. Either way, conference win is a conference win. I suspect Florida will take some lumps this year, and probably lose a "huh?" game somewhere in there.
In the other welcome game of the night, Missouri pretty much mimicked what the Aggies did - getting worked in the final quarter to seal it. Give Missouri a ton of credit, they played pretty damn hard and spent almost 3 quarters answering everything Georgia did. But you don't ever see records after 3 quarters. Give Georgia credit, two HUGE defensive plays late to pull away. And they had some starters out for this one. They'll be solid.
Texas Doing What They Do...
Disclaimer: I was working all day and managed to listen to about a quarter and a half on the radio. My take is it was a typical second-game-of-the-year conservative game, making plays on athleticism in basic plays. Nice long TD run by Ash and solid day through the air. And no picks. I was surprised to see only 146 rushing yards, only because this is New Mexico and I would expect more. Pitched a shutout which is great, but they seemed to struggle early getting them off the field. But they also forced a couple of turnovers which they need to continue to do. Nothing much to say - good win, what I expected and doesn't wildly change my perception of them one way or another. I suspect next week will be a pretty tight game and give Texas the early edge.
Other Random College Football Thoughts...
In the interest of full disclosure, here's what my week's lineup looks like...
Great game by Matt Ryan, but my biggest pain is I sat Brandon Marshall in favor of Anquan Boldin...shoot me now.
Non-Sports Thought for the Week
Who are these people who watch these political conventions and get all worked up OR pumped up? I mean, really? Is this a joke? It's a f'ng pep rally people.
SEC Welcome Weekend:
I'll start with the game I actually did watch (recorded and caught it late) and that's the Gators at the Aggies. Coming into the season I saw this game as A&M's best chance to come into the conference with a "signature" win. However, coming into this week I changed my tune - I thought (and still do) that missing the first game of the season to a probable cupcake team and working off the rust was a big issue. (And for the record, as you hopefully heard on the podcast, I had Florida by 3 or 4).
With all of that said, I wouldn't necessarily say they had rust as much as Florida made the right adjustments. The Aggies were impressive out of the gate to say the least - and I suspect that half of College Station has already forgotten about Tannehill. This kid has a bright future. Lot of positives for the Aggies. However, that one thorn continues to stick - start fast, fade late. You will neither compete for, nor win any conference titles with that MO. They've got the right pieces - seemed like their defense had about 25 sacks - they just need to kick it up a notch after halftime.
On the flip side, I really think Florida is a mess. On paper this game was good - withstand the early adrenaline/emotional burst, keep it close, and wear them out. But they simply commit too many penalties and I question the condition they're in. I was surprised when I looked saw the box score to see Driscoll's numbers. Pretty solid game, but he's got happy feet. Big time. I think 2-3 of those sacks were squarely on him simply not reading the rush correctly. Either way, conference win is a conference win. I suspect Florida will take some lumps this year, and probably lose a "huh?" game somewhere in there.
In the other welcome game of the night, Missouri pretty much mimicked what the Aggies did - getting worked in the final quarter to seal it. Give Missouri a ton of credit, they played pretty damn hard and spent almost 3 quarters answering everything Georgia did. But you don't ever see records after 3 quarters. Give Georgia credit, two HUGE defensive plays late to pull away. And they had some starters out for this one. They'll be solid.
Texas Doing What They Do...
Disclaimer: I was working all day and managed to listen to about a quarter and a half on the radio. My take is it was a typical second-game-of-the-year conservative game, making plays on athleticism in basic plays. Nice long TD run by Ash and solid day through the air. And no picks. I was surprised to see only 146 rushing yards, only because this is New Mexico and I would expect more. Pitched a shutout which is great, but they seemed to struggle early getting them off the field. But they also forced a couple of turnovers which they need to continue to do. Nothing much to say - good win, what I expected and doesn't wildly change my perception of them one way or another. I suspect next week will be a pretty tight game and give Texas the early edge.
Other Random College Football Thoughts...
- Nebraska, really? How in the world did this team surrender 684 yards of total offense....to freaking UCLA???? Didn't see that one, but I'm baffled. Unless Jim Mora is....naaaa, not going there yet. Good for the Bruins for pulling a huge win and already buying some much-needed good will in LA. I still don't give this team much chance of anything significant, but this was a big win. Meanwhile, just remember Nebraska - you can still win the Big 10. But you need to check yourself.
- Oh boy Badgers, that's gotta hurt. Oregon State is not good.
- And this weeks' winner of the "game-I-should-have-recorded" award goes to....Okie State at Arizona. Lot of offense in that game - and maybe Rich Rod does have the players he needs to run his system...or the Cowboys just suck on defense.
- Holy moly - I'd say Kansas State is pretty good. Klein continues to quietly move his name up the best-in-the-conference board. And that Geno Smith guy...
- OMG - an SEC West team lost. Should we just cancel the season?
- Watching second half of San Fran/Green Bay game and certainly living up to it's billing. Great game thus far. Both teams look really strong. God I love the NFL.
- I'd say Robert Griffin III is pretty good and certainly ready for the NFL. What a start to his career. Do we see another Cam Newton?
- Speaking of QBs: think about the new school of QBs - Cam Newton last year, RGIII and Luck this year, Ryan Tannehill (just kidding). You're seeing arguably the 3 best QBs of the next decade.
- Yeah, you're probably right Cleveland - you should probably draft a system QB to replace your above-average second year QB who had dick around him. Good call.
- And speaking of that game - that is a tough outing Mr. Vick. Let's hope that's an aberration. Good deal to gut that out, but there's no way Cleveland should have been in that game.
- So contrary to what pre-season tells us I guess the Jets CAN score with their offense. Very solid outing by the Jets, especially the O-line who rendered Mario Williams a non-factor and didn't give up a single sack. They won't always put up 48, but this has got to be a huge confidence builder.
- Checking back into the Packers/Niners game: San Francisco is completely controlling this game.
- Super pumped about tonight's game - hope Peyton can have a strong (and healthy) outing.
In the interest of full disclosure, here's what my week's lineup looks like...
Great game by Matt Ryan, but my biggest pain is I sat Brandon Marshall in favor of Anquan Boldin...shoot me now.
Non-Sports Thought for the Week
Who are these people who watch these political conventions and get all worked up OR pumped up? I mean, really? Is this a joke? It's a f'ng pep rally people.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 6:55 PM
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