UPS AND DOWNS for AUGUST WEEK 2

Welcome to Following Football 2.0 - updated format, updated focus, better prepared to service you, the eclectic football fan! UP FIRST, most appropriately, our Tuesday column stretching across three countries and four versions of the sport... UPS AND DOWNS for the second week of August, 2015!

UP - the OTTAWA REDBLACKS, winners of just two games last year in their inaugural CFL season, are already 4-2 in this young season, tied for the best record in the Eastern Division. They've done it with their retread, 40-year old QB Henry Burris, who's held up while most other teams are on starter number two or three behind center, and a team that's willing to keep fighting when they've been behind, winning in 4Q comebacks a couple of times already.

DOWN - the NEW JERSEY JETS, who just reached a new level of Jet-ness by putting their starting QB Geno Smith (already embattled and getting booed in PRACTICE by those wonderfully supportive New Yack "fans") on the IR for 6-10 weeks...after having his jaw broken in two places from a SUCKER PUNCH from a TEAMMATE, I.K. Enemkpali (rephrase that: FORMER teammate - at least the Jets had that much sense!) over a debt Smith apparently owed the backup linebacker for a plane ticket he never used. All parties seem to be content with the resolution, but...I mean, WTF? The Oakland Raiders called, and said the Jets are stealing their schtik!

UP - the RACIAL SENSITIVITY OF AUSTRALIAN FOOTY FANS, after continued ugly booing incidents over the last few months of indiginous star Adam Goodes, which finally drove him from the sport for a week in July. That was met with outrage from throughout the AFL community, drowning out the few confederate-wannabes who claimed it wasn't about race (hmmm...), after which Goodes returned to the Sydney Swans for their game at Geelong last Saturday, where he was met with (in the opinion of the pollyannish announcers) all positive reactions. (I'm not nearly as convinced, myself...) So, we'll see where this goes from here. Australia, you know, has a much worse race issue history than even the US - aborigines were hunted for sport by the white settlers at first.

DOWN - the PUBLIC OPINION OF TOM BRADY OR ROGER GOODELL, depending on which side you choose to take in the somehow-still-ongoing "DeFlateGate" ridiculousness. We side with Goodell for once - you flipping DESTROYED your phone? What kind of idiot are you? And you would then have us believe you HABITUALLY do that, Tom? First of all, if so, you're on a Tom Cruise level of crazy, but even so, why would you do that NOW, knowing how guilty it makes you look, unless (of course) you ARE guilty, which Occam's Razor now says you are. And do you realize, Mister former Hall Of Fame quarterback, how hard it is to make ROGER FLIPP'N GOODELL look like the voice of REASON? That takes a Lance Armstrong level of paranoia and delusion. Congratulations. You turned what should've been a slap on the hand fine (had you said, Oops, didn't think anyone would notice, my bad, before the Super Bowl) into, literally, a federal case, and a four week suspension, and a black mark on your career that will be paragraph two in your obituary.

More on Chris Borland - and the surprising lack of shock in his early retirement

The most poignant thing in this article, a follow-up to the piece we linked this morning noting the retirement of 49ers linebacker Chris Borland at the tender age of twenty-four, after just one season, is the last section, from former Jets star Wesley Walker. Truthfully, his words bring tears:

Wesley Walker, 59, who played 13 years with the Jets, said he's had surgeries on his neck, back, shoulders, knees and Achilles that he attributed to his football career. He said that he suffers from spinal stenosis and nerve damage, that he feels pain in his arms and fingers, and that he's had 14 screws and a plate inserted into his neck and 10 screws and two rods inserted into his back.

"I admire [Borland] for what he did. I admire him for being man enough and smart enough to know what's more important in life," Walker told ESPN.com's Ian O'Connor. "If I had to do it over again, and I knew I'd end up in the amount of pain I'm always in, there's no way in hell I'd play football again. With all of my injuries, including my neck, I took a chance of breaking my neck and ending up in a wheelchair. I look back and ask, 'What was I thinking?' "

"Every individual has to make his own decision, and there's so much money to be made these days. But is money more important, or is your life more important? I could never see myself hurting myself, but there have been times when I've thought, 'God, I wish you'd just end this right now.' I don't sleep, I'm in constant pain, I haven't felt my feet in 20 years. I feel like there are times when my whole body shuts down. Sometimes I feel like I'm 90 years old.

"[Commissioner] Roger Goodell is a good friend of mine. But I want the NFL to tell truth about what's happening with players, and I think they sugarcoat everything."

The thought of retirement came many months ago for Borland, who played through concussion during training camp and realized that was facing him the rest of his career if he wanted to be good at his choice of vocation. 

Borland told "Outside The Lines" that he had been thinking about leaving football as the 2014 season went along, and wrote a letter to his parents late in the year. After the season, he consulted with prominent concussion researchers and former players to affirm his decision.

"I've thought about what I could accomplish in football, but for me, personally, when you read about Mike Webster and Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling, you read all these stories, and to be the type of player I want to be in football, I think I'd have to take on some risks that, as a person, I don't want to take on."

Borland was referring to former NFL greats who were diagnosed with the devastating brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, after their deaths. Duerson and Easterling committed suicide.

Borland said he began to have misgivings during training camp. He said he suffered what he believed to be a concussion stuffing a running play but played through it, in part because he was trying to make the team.

"I just thought to myself, 'What am I doing? Is this how I'm going to live my adult life, banging my head, especially with what I've learned and know about the dangers?'"

The saddest reaction, for me, came from Green Bay Packers director of player personnel Eliot Wolf, who tweeted the following (as if it contradicted Borland's actions):

"Anyone worried about the future of football should see the amount of calls & emails we get from kids literally begging to get into pro days."

It's not the future of football I'm worried about, Mr. Wolf, but the future of those kids begging to get into pro days.

Now...about the NFL trade period...wow!

We don't even know where to start. 

St. Louis and the Philadelphia Kellys trading starting quarterbacks?

New Orleans having a fire sale?

San Francisco losing all these great players (and coaches!) and then picking up a ton of new ones as well?

The entire AFC East getting TONS better? Especially Buffalo - that's my new co-favorite (because until New England falls, I'm not betting against them...).

Seattle getting Jimmy Graham? Dallas losing DeMarco Murray? Miami signing Ndamukong Suh? (I spelled that without looking it up! Proud of me!)

And what will the Eagles look like when Chip gets done?

I think the best advice I've heard, and many wise pundits have repeated it many times, is this: It's only March 16, people. There's plenty of time - there are many more dominoes to fall - the draft is still coming. 

When the dust settles and summer arrives...then we can make our evaluations.

(But it's going to be fun to see what those teams we've named in particular look like then!)

Here is the latest update from Rotoworld and NBC Sports as to where each of the free agents in the NFL has signed ...

More NFL trade talk...

And the hits keep coming... Ryan Fitzpatrick to the Jets...Is there a positive outcome for either team in the Nick Foles to the Rams/Sam Bradford to Philly trade?...Jimmy Graham to Seattle from the Saints makes sense from both sides (New Orleans is WAY over the cap), but it apparently isn't making Graham a happy man!...Finally, Peter King has his usual great insight into the amazing changes throughout the NFL landscape over the last week in his Monday Wednesday Morning Quarterback column, including some interesting notes about the probable number one pick in the draft, Jamies Winston.

...AND, what about the "wooden spoon"? Who gets the first draft pick?

Six teams have a shot at the worst record in the NFL: Tennessee, Oakland, Jacksonville, and Tampa all have 2-12 records, with the New York Jets and Washington one game up at 3-11. 

Projecting the last two games, the key may be the Tennessee at Jacksonville debacle this Thursday night - talk about a bad game. This season has shown that teams simply are not ready to play on Thursday nights, and the game is either a blowout (with one unprepared team) or a sludge match (with two). Add to that two BAD teams to begin with, and look out, America! You've been warned!

Regardless, the winner of that game probably takes themselves out of contention, because they'll each be heavy underdogs against division heavyweights Indy and Houston in week 17, even with extra time to prepare. Meanwhile, Oakland will be the underdog week 17 at Denver UNLESS they rest everybody for the playoff run (possible), but they'd still lose in more likelihood. This week's game, hosting Buffalo, may be more winnable. And Tampa Bay has two games that are at home, but against teams that need to win for their own playoff ambitions (Green Bay, New Orleans). All other things equal, we'd bet on the Buccaneers being the most likely to finish 2-14. But, if Tennessee loses both games, they ARE the #1 pick.

Here's our updated NFL "FOLLOWING FOOTBALL" tiered ranks for Week 15!

wk 15 Team Div OvRecord ConfRc DvRec A1 New England Patriots* A-E 11-3 8-2 3-1 A2 Denver Broncos* A-W 11-3 9-1 5-0 A3 Green Bay Packers N-N 10-4 7-3 4-1 A4 Seattle Seahawks N-W 10-4 7-2 3-1 B5 Dallas Cowboys N-E 10-4 7-4 3-2 B6 Arizona Cardinals N-W 11-3 8-2 3-1 B7 Indianapolis Colts* A-S 10-4 8-3 5-0 B8 Philadelphia Eagles N-E 9-5 5-5 3-1 C09 Detroit Lions N-N 10-4 8-2 4-0 C10 Cincinnati Bengals A-N 9-4-1 6-4 3-2 C11 Pittsburgh Steelers A-N 9-5 7-3 3-2 C12 Baltimore Ravens A-N 9-5 5-5 2-3 D13 San Diego Chargers A-W 8-6 6-5 2-3 D14 Kansas City Chiefs A-W 8-6 6-4 2-3 D15 Buffalo Bills A-E 8-6 5-6 3-2 D16 Houston Texans A-S 7-7 6-4 2-2 E17 Miami Dolphins A-E 7-7 6-5 3-2 E18 St. Louis Rams N-W 6-8 4-6 2-3 E19 Cleveland Browns A-N 7-7 4-7 2-3 E20 San Francisco 49ers N-W 7-7 6-5 1-4 F21 Minnesota Vikings N-N 6-8 5-6 0-5 F22 Atlanta Falcons N-S 5-9 5-5 4-0 F23 Carolina Panthers N-S 5-8-1 5-6 3-2 F24 New Orleans Saints N-S 5-8 4-5 2-2 G25 New York Giants N-E 5-9 3-7 2-3 G26 Chicago Bears N-N 5-8 4-5 1-3 G27 Washington Redskins N-E 3-11 1-9 1-3 G28 New York Jets A-E 3-11 3-7 0-4 H29 Oakland Raiders A-W 2-12 1-9 1-4 H30 Tampa Buccaneers N-S 2-12 1-9 0-5 H31 Jacksonville Jaguars A-S 2-12 1-9 0-3 H32 Tennessee Titans A-S 2-12 2-8 1-4

Some notes - with the Packers' loss to the Bills yesterday, the Pats move up to the number 1 spot, with Denver right behind. Dallas and Arizona moved up partly on their Week 15 games but also on the overall body of work, verified by an impressive win this weekend. 

Because of the NFC South debacle (the winner is guaranteed a sub-.500 record), there are six NFC teams in spots 3 through 9 fighting for FIVE playoff spots. No need to beat that dead horse, but it seems likely that Philly and Dallas are fighting for ONE spot at this point. 

Also, three teams clinched divisions in the AFC, indicated with asterisks above. That leaves three spots, and the three nine-win teams in the North division all have the inside track on those, with six other teams (in tier-ranks 13-19) within conceivable distance of overtaking them.

Finally, the Jets did themselves no favors by beating the Titans in the first 16-11 game in NFL history (that just seems weird!) - now, they're a "game out" of the lead for the first draft pick, and with four teams "ahead" of them at the moment, it seems more unlikely that the quarterback they need will still be there at pick five. 

Random items from Week 12

“There’s Jesus, there’s girls, and there’s Marcus Mariota.” —12-year-old Charlie Pape, following the Ducks’ 44-10 win over Colorado, explaining to Oregon coach Mark Helfrich where Mariota’s future stands in the conversational hierarchy of students at O’Hara Catholic. (Thanks to Matt Hinton at Grantland for the quote!)

WISH I COULD TELL YOU WHERE THESE TWO QUOTES CAME FROM...just know that they're not ours, alas!...

"I call him "the Geno Atkins diet" because once he gets a little bit of bread, he's worthless."
- about NY Jets QB Geno Smith...
"RG3-8 is about to end his career as a sub, instead of just being a spokesman for one."
- about Robert Griffin III in D.C....

And we agree wholeheartedly with Holly Anderson - we LOVE the home v. home jersey tradition that UCLA and USC started last year! Last year, at the Colosseum, UCLA insisted on wearing its home blues, despite being the road team. They were assessed a time out penalty for the infraction; USC then called a time out before its very first play to "level the playing field", if you'll pardon the expression. If the NCAA didn't wisen up this year, I'm sure USC and UCLA played the same infraction game this year, with the roles reversed, and we're sure glad they did: this is such a cool tradition! Remember, for decades, the two schools shared the Colosseum, so they really were both home teams. With UCLA playing in the Rose Bowl these days, it's great to see nostalgia reign!



PS - d'you know how big Los Angeles is? USC and UCLA are both in LA, twelve miles apart...which means they're farther apart than North Carolina and Duke, who played Thursday night - their campuses are only separated by eight miles.

If anyone sees Buffalo, please report it to missing persons...

Last night's game between Kent St and Buffalo was cancelled on account of the 5-6 feet of lake effect snow that's swamping the city of Buffalo over the last 48 hours, with more on the way today. Here's an article from NBC News on the record snowfall - and "record snowfall" for Buffalo is really saying something!

How will it affect the potential game there Sunday between the Bills and the NY Jets? 

Firstly, if it can't be played, it can't be played. Odds are neither team will need to make it up, to be blunt - certainly not the Jersey Jettisons, and (alas) probably not Buffalo with twelve teams in the AFC at .500 or above right now fighting for six playoff spots.

But secondly, the Buffalo team can't even practice right now. They're conferencing via internet, studying film at home, and that sort of thing, because that's all they CAN do. 

Mark Schlereth of ESPN had some great points this morning, speaking on "Mike and Mike In The Morning" on ESPN Radio. The skills that every pro athlete uses every game - footwork, handwork, etc. - has to be honed every day in practice. Like a fine musician, missing one day of practice is devastating; missing a week is deadly. But his other point is more frightening - just because these athletes are paid doesn't mean they TRAIN like professionals. How many of the Buffalo players are treating this like a mini-vacation? Even if unintentionally, it's too easy to sit back, play with the kids, scan the sattelite dish for old movies or new sports, instead of working on your job, the one you're paid to be outstanding at. Come Sunday, assuming the game goes on, we may discover who on the Buffalo team made constructive use of the snow time - and who didn't.

We suffer from "premature tiering"!

Even with 1 1/2 games to go this weekend, we're ready to separate the NFL into eight tiers after Week Ten, although the gaps at the top are rather narrow!

Bottom Four: We're promoting the Jets after their upset win over the Steelers, which leaves us the Raiders, Jaguars, Bucs, and Titans.

Next Four Up: Four teams with moments of glory and weeks of misery - the Rams, Jets, Falcons, and Bears.

Tier Six: Four mediocre, non-descript teams on the field with interesting issues off it - the Vikings (Adrian Peterson), Redskins (RG3), Texans (JJWatt the celebrity), and the NYG (they're in New York).

Tier Five: These four teams seem to be good, and yet... they're still the Saints, Niners, Panthers, and Bills.

Tier Four: Now, we're in the upper half of the league, and these four teams could very well be in the playoffs in nine weeks - or not? Consistency! We'll just have to see what happens with the Seahawks, Chiefs, Dolphins, and Chargers.

Tier AFC North: Literally. How do you separate the Browns, Bengals, Steelers, and Ravens right now? Arguably, they may not be teams #9-12, but they belong together until someone makes a move (one direction or the other!).

Top Eight, Subdivided: The divisions here are a bit muddy, but let's see what makes sense - certainly the Cardinals and Broncos are up there, and the next two teams, Patriots and Packers, may or may not be below them. The Colts, Cowboys, and Eagles all sit very snugly up there next to them, and if we have to choose a number eight, the 7-2 Lions would probably be there. But these are the eight best in the league right now; interestingly, five are from the NFC and three from the AFC (but seven of our next eight are, too!).

From Easterbrook's column: The Special Teams Gods Chortled

Boise State runs a trick play kickoff return that went like this: First, two returners dropped deep. As the kicking team lined up and was distracted, one of the return men prostrated himself flat on the turf. After the other return man took the kick, the prostrate guy leapt and took a throwback. The key? Boise State runs this play at home, where a guy in a blue uniform horizontal on blue turf isn't noticed.

When the Bills prepared to kick off leading 27-17, Jersey/B had Percy Harvin and Santonio Holmes in the end zone. Holmes dropped prostrate -- a guy in a green uniform horizontal in a home-team end zone that's painted the same shade of green. Boom, the kickoff went all the way to the back line. Harvin should have knelt; instead, he tried to advance to reach a position to throw back to Holmes. The Jets ended up pinned on their 3.

Don't blame US if the pro tiers for Week 8 are imbalanced!

Blame the teams! We literally gave up trying to make the number of teams in each tier balance and went back to our guiding principle: Put teams that would play even games on a neutral field in the same tier. That means the chart looks more like a bell-curve than a flat line, but so be it! By the end of the season, it'll straighten itself out!

So, here we go: Quintile A is comprised of the teams we think are in control of their own Super Bowl destiny - they'd probably be favored over teams from B and C teams without issue; they'd be favored by double digits over Quintile D teams, and the E teams should find a way to call in sick...

Denver Broncos (6-1, firing on all cylinders)
Arizona Cardinals (6-1, sneaky good - finding a way to win every week)
Philadelphia Eagles (5-2, no shame losing 24-20 at Arizona!)
Dallas Cowboys (6-2, and we'll give them a pass for the OT loss last night)
Indianapolis Colts (5-3, but would you want to face Luck in a big game?)
New England Patriots (6-2, we had to move them back up - Brady's too good)

Quintile B has the teams who can still justifiably argue they are championship contenders, although they'd be underdogs playing the above six...

Green Bay Packers (5-3, more for Aaron Rodgers' health than anything else)
Detroit Lions (6-2, but if it takes THAT to beat the Falcons...)
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3, can't exclude them after Big Ben's performance Sunday!)
Cincinnati Bengals (4-2-1, still as fiery a contender as there is)
Baltimore Ravens (5-3, and in charge of their destiny)
San Diego Chargers (5-3, though they proved against Denver they're not top notch yet)
San Francisco 49ers (4-3, struggling, but it's hard to ignore the teams they've beaten)
Seattle Seahawks (4-3, see previous comment!)

Quintile C is the middle of the pack:

Buffalo Bills (5-3, we think they're above average, but they don't yet...)
Kansas City Chiefs (4-3, and maybe, just maybe...)
Miami Dolphins (4-3, on any given day...)
Carolina Panthers (3-4-1, and like all the others in group C, has the tools...)
New Orleans Saints (3-4, fabulous if they're at home. IF.)
Houston Texans (4-4, give us eleven JJ Watts and we can rule the world)
Cleveland Browns (4-3, beating the Raiders shouldn't count)

Quintile D teams are already giving up hope for this season...

Chicago Bears (3-5, they should be higher if we go on potential)
St. Louis Rams (2-5, but every once in a while, they rise up...)
New Yorkersey Giants (3-4, but really they're not that good)
Atlanta Falcons (2-6, how can a team look that good in the first half...)
Minnesota Vikings (3-5, and if Bridgewater pans out, on their way up...)
Washington Redskins (3-5, promoted after winning in Dallas, even if it's overtime)

Quintile E teams are the bye weeks in disguise:

Tennessee Titans (2-6, but that's deceptively good...)
New Yorkersey Jets (1-7, Geno Smith put up one of the classic terrible stat lines in history)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7, does the guy in the Bud Light commercial want to change his living room and backyard back to how they were before?)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7, how did they ever win a game?)
Oakland Raiders (0-7, but they've at least been competitive!)

Loose ends from Week 8...

Savannah St fell to 0-8 yesterday, losing at North Carolina Central 42-21. They have now lost seventeen in a row...

On the flip side, the defending FCS champion North Dakota St Bison won 47-7 over South Dakota to move to 8-0, and consecutive win number 32...

The Arizona Cardinals had two 75+ yard pass plays for touchdowns, the last under two minutes to go, to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20. What were the odds of the Cards being two full games up on Seattle AND San Francisco after Week 8?...

Have you seen the standings in the AFC North? All four teams are within a half-game of each other: Cincinnati at 4-2-1, Pittsburgh and Baltimore at 5-3, and Cleveland at 4-3!...

Conversely, everyone in the NFC South is below .500 - Carolina leads at 3-4-1, the Saints are at 2-4 pending tonight's game, Atlanta fell to 2-6 after leading 21-0 at halftime, and Jacksonville is...Jacksonville...

TCU scored 82 points on Texas Tech yesterday, a real FBS school. This was the highest point total of the year, surpassing North Texas' defeat of Nicholls St 77-3, which we argue SHOULD NOT COUNT because it was against an FCS team (never mind that it was an 0-9 school who lost by two TDs to a Division II team). So, for that reason, glad TCU set the new season high. (If those games don't count towards your win total for bowl games, they shouldn't count for anything else, either!)...

That wasn't the only high number put up Saturday - Georgia Southern put 69 on Georgia St (69-31), Western Kentucky beat Old Dominion 66-51, and Tier C Arizona took out Washington St 59-37, only after having shifted into low gear for the fourth quarter...

And in the FCS, not only did Alcorn St ruin the last game at Blackshaw Field for Prairie View by scoring 77 on them (winning 77-48), but Murray St laid a woodshed whoop'n on Kentucky Wesleyen 86-29... and it should've been worse, except they hung onto the ball for the last seven minutes, finishing the game by kneeling on the KW seven yard line... 

Michigan St scored a last minute TD against Michigan to stretch their winning margin to 35-11. Why? Because the Wolverine players were jerks. Apparently, they decided to 'stake' the center Spartan when they came out onto the field, always a wise move against your cross-state rival when they're 7-1 and you're falling apart at the seams. Our early candidate for stupid jerk move of the year...

In the pros, Geno Smith of the New York Jets posted one of the saddest stat lines ever before being pulled for Michael Vick (who didn't help much, either, as Buffalo creamed them): 2 for 8, for five yards, w 3 interceptions. A rating of 0.0; perfection!

On the flip side, having already lauded Ben Roethlisberger's day for the Steelers, let's check the great Tom Brady's line for the New England Patriots: 30-35 for 354 yards, five TDs and no picks. Pats beat the Bears 51-23.

Forecasts for Week 8!

Looking through the oddsmakers' choices and spreads (and again, we do not advocate betting on football or any sport! It's just a device we use to estimate probable outcomes of games!), there aren't very many spots where we disagree with Vegas. Here are the most obvious:

In college football, we like Maryland over Wisconsin as an eleven point underdog, since we have them a tier higher to begin with!

We like Georgia Tech to beat Pitt despite their three-point underdog line, as we have them three full tiers higher than the Panthers!

We severely question the idea that Oregon St is a two-TD underdog to Stanford. We have them a tier higher, and since it's on the Farm, we figure it a pretty even game.

Looking at the West Virginia at Oklahoma St game, we see even lines from most Vegas houses, but we see it as a probable Mountaineer victory.

Old Dominion should be able to handle Western Kentucky, despite the Hilltoppers' home field advantage...and we don't see why Arizona is only a 2 1/2 point fave over Washington St. Sure, the Cougs will put up fifty - but they'll allow seventy!

In the NFL, we're always afraid to predict the unpredictable, but the two games where our tiers disagree with the oddsmakers are in the Meadowlands, where unlike Vegas we foresee Buffalo beating the Jets, and in New Orleans. Sure, the Saints are good at home...but the Packers are good everywhere. They're rated as a "pick'em" game, but we're pretty confident in Green Bay defeating New Orleans, even in the Superdome.

Finally, in the CFL, we're most interested in the Hamilton at Toronto matchup, and leaning towards the road team to win the first of the three-game round-robin tournament for the Eastern Conference title. 

AFL Comparison #15: St. Kilda Saints

Saint Kilda is a mess. But what else is new? One of the original Melbourne teams, they were also the original "whipping boy" for early footy teams of the late 19th century, losing games by ridiculous scores like 59-2 and 94-3 in that first "official" season of the Victorian Football League (they went 0-14 that first year). They've had only marginal success over the years, winning exactly one premiership over their 117 seasons of footy, back in 1966, when (after finishing second to Collingwood during the regular "home-and-away" season AND losing to them in the prelims, the Saints made their way back through to the Grand Final, where they managed to defeat Collingwood by one point, 74-73. 

They've had more recent chances, most famously in 2010, when they actually tied Collingwood in the Grand Final at 68, only to lose the replay of the game a week later by 56 points (no such thing as "overtime" I guess, even when 100,016 people pay big money to see a champion crowned... 

Nowadays, the Saints have rapidly fallen on hard times yet again, dropping all the way to the "wooden spoon" this year for the worst record in the AFL (actually tied with Melbourne, but their scoring percentage was worse, which is very important in footy!). Beyond that, they're not even sure where they want to be based: a new facility in Belvedere Park, their old home back down the road in the Linton St Oval, or their training and admin facility in Seaford; plus having Wellington, New Zealand, as their "home away from home", where they're contractually obligated (and more than willing) to play two games a year as a 'home' team.

Who in the United States sporting world is that screwed up?

Their American counterpart: the New York Jets

Ah, the glorious New York Jets!  Home of Mark Sanchez and the "butt fumble", home of the quiet and refined coach Rex Ryan, home of the glorious championship history that is...er... well, actually, they've only one one title, back in 1969, but because of Broadway Joe Namath's prediction and antics (and, frankly, the overconfidence of the Baltimore Colts, the NFL champ forced to play the upstart AFL Jets in Super Bowl III), it's remembered. Oh, BOY, is it remembered!

Like the Saints, a recent flirt with not only competence but quality fell by the wayside, and they're now 1-6 and sinking fast as the Patriots start to remember who they are. Like the Saints, they live off their one title from the sixties. Like the Saints, they're not even sure where they're from (what part of New York state is the Meadowlands in, again?), and like the Saints, they have revered stars who fail to achieve on their team.

Don't bet on which team will win a title first. You won't live that long to collect...

Oh-for-three is a GREAT way to start Week Seven!

So, the Jets looked better than they've looked all season...so, Utah pulled out an overtime victory on the road after all...so Pitt isn't the pits after all.

We are reminded at this moment of our continued and resounding failure to project the near-future of football of two things:

1) That's what makes football so much fun! We simply never know from one week to the next what will happen, although it's so much fun to guess!

2) Gregg Easterbrook, the brilliant writer who pens TMQ: Tuesday Morning Quarterback for ESPN.com, always appends his disclaimer to his picks: "Remember, all predictions are guaranteed to be wrong, or your money back!"

If you continue to be foolhardy enough to rely on our preferences, we choose Fresno to lose to Boise tonight. Since we picked Fresno yesterday, ONE of our choices HAS to be right...doesn't it?

UPDATE: So of course Boise won Friday night, 37-27, making us 0-4 so far this week... Here's hoping we do better on Saturday!

Tonight's American Football menu for your dining pleasure...

"Appetizer, sir or madam? Would you care to try our ACC game? It's very good - Virginia Tech at Pitt. Or perhaps you would prefer something more...westerly? We also have this delightful Pac-12 matchup, with Utah visiting Oregon State if you'd like?

"My recommendation? M'sieur, I would not be so bold as to suggest what m'sieur prefers. But if it were my place to recommend, I would like the turkey and the beaver, myself (the Hokies and the Beavers) as they are under valued, in my humble opinion...

"Very good, sir or madam; very good. 

"Now, for your main course this evening? Our specialty is delightful - a steaming hot plate of Rex Ryan, boiling in New York Jets green sauce, heaped onto a delicious pile of New England Patriots, with a side of Belichick and Brady to agitate it, give it some spice! Yes? No?

"Ah! Just like me! You'd prefer it with more Patriot and less Jet? Don't worry - that's what you'll get tonight: lots of New England with just a very tiny amount of NYJ,

"Magnificent! And for dessert? Can we bring you something on the blue? Perhaps some Fresno Bulldog? With a side of Boise State? No? Hold the Boise? Well, that would be a ten-yard penalty, but we expect much more Fresno than Bronco in this dish tomorrow night.

"Ah, very good, sir or madam. It is a pleasure to serve you!"