Manning on Top, Big Ben an Anomaly in Quarterback Rankings Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Below are my promised NFL quarterback rankings from 1 to 50, with comments. I decided to go Bill Simmons on ya'll and present them in 12 tiers from worst to first. Next to each quarterback I've listed his current team and his first year out of college.

Rankings are based on ability as of right now. Rankings do not take age or potential into account, although old guys are likely to move down quickly in the future. Quarterbacks are certainly eligible to move up with improved performances but this is how I see things as of this moment. "Rings" are not taken into account, although the ability to perform when it matters is certainly relevant.

I started with a list of current starters plus guys who are most likely to start at some point this year due to injuries or benching. Then I added in a couple more guys such as Troy Smith and Nate Davis whom I am personally interested in. Therefore, guys like Mark Brunell and Jon Kitna are not ranked.

Established Disasters

50. Michael Vick (Eagles, 2001) - Vick could certainly move up in the future, but right now there is no ungodly reason he should take snaps as a regular quarterback in an actual game, having been in prison for almost two years.

49. JaMarcus Russell (Raiders, 2007) - Russell's struggles, inaccuracy and poor work ethic are well-documented, and everyone is down on him. Hard to imagine he'll be in the league two years from today.

48. Matt Leinart (Cardinals, 2006) - Old Man Warner could certainly beat out a lot of current starters, but when Leinart has come in even on mop up duty, he's been an unqualified disaster.

47. Alex Smith (49ers, 2005) - Smith's career was a misfire right from the start and is destined to go down in history with the Couches, Carrs and Bollers of the world, not to mention the other A. Smith bust, Akili.

46. Chris Simms (Broncos, 2003) - Was liked by a lot of analysts early on, but the poor guy lost a lot of time to unlucky health problems. Nowadys his place on NFL rosters rests only his past potential and not current ability.

45. Vince Young (Titans, 2006) - Young believes he can work hard, be a backup for a while and eventually recover his career. Don't count on it.

44. Rex Grossman (Texans, 2003) - The first quarterback on our list to make it to a Super Bowl, Grossman vs. Manning was the most ridiculous QB mismatch in Super Bowl history. Somehow, Grossman is still hanging onto a roster spot, wondering what could have become of his career had he not been injured so much his first couple seasons.

Not quite dead yet

43. Derek Anderson (Browns, 2005) - In 2007, Anderson's poor accuracy was saved by career years by Kellen Winslow II and Braylon Edwards in addition to an unbelievably easy schedule. Since then, his true colors have shown, but his teammates seem to like him a lot, so I can't quite pronounce his career a failure just yet.

42. Trent Edwards (Bills, 2007) - Many were high on Edwards before the season. Don't ask me why.

41. Brady Quinn (Browns, 2007) - Congratulations, Brady, you're the best quarterback of the 2007 NFL Draft class! It's difficult to evaluate Quinn because he's been on the field for very few snaps. However, I haven't heard Browns coaches or front office types say anything positive about him other than "Well, Anderson sucks, so let's try Quinn." Not exactly a vote of confidence.

40. Seneca Wallace (Seahawks, 2003) - Despite his long NFL tenure, he has very few snaps as a QB but I put him on this list because I do think he could move up a couple tiers in the right situation.

Clearly backups at best, but paid like real quarterbacks

39. Dan Orlovsky (Texans, 2005) - With Shaub's injury history, we're likely to see Orlovsky in some meaningful games this season. At that point, he'll swiftly reveal whether he's got real ability or if that self-induced safety was characteristic of his play.

38. Sage Rosenfels (Vikings, 2001) - Would he have gotten the start over Jackson if Favre hadn't showed up? Probably, since he was favored by VP of Player Personnel Rick Spielman. Favre's arrival signaled the demise of his last real chance to be an NFL starter.

Question marks with potential

37, 36, 35. Chad Henne (Dolphins, 2008), Josh Freeman (Bucs, 2009), Josh Johnson (Bucs, 2008) - I have absolutely no idea about these guys, and neither can anyone else except perhaps the actual coaching staff of the Dolphins and Bucs.

34. Nate Davis (49ers, 2009) - Davis could be a future playmaker in this league. He was incredible at Ball State and MAC QBs have a decent track record in the NFL (all things considered). Many in SF see him as the heir apparent. Plus he went to Bellaire High School in Ohio, my alma mater's biggest rival. I like the guy.

33. Matt Stafford (Lions 2009) - The biggest strike against him is that he plays for the Lions. Other than that, I'm clueless, but he was great in college.

32. Mark Sanchez (Jets, 2009) - He's looked good and bad, but so far his team has been a lot better than him, leading to a 3-2 record. We'll see. Another college star, though that means little.

In the perfect situation, the ceiling is "playoffs"

31. Tavaris Jackson (Vikings, 2006) - We've seen what Tavaris offers. With an uber-talented team, he can take you to the playoffs, but that's pretty much his ceiling. That will be a theme with all the guys in this group. By the way, what does it say about the quality of quarterback play in your league when Tavaris Jackson is the 31st best signal caller in the league? Not good.

30. Marc Bulger (Rams, 2000) - He was once quite good, but that's when his team was top ten talent. Nowadays, he's worse, and his team is at rock bottom.

29. Daunte Culpepper (Lions, 1999) - Similarly Daunte had a statistically mind boggling season in 2004 (4700 yards, 39 TDs) but the offensive talent certainly helped. Nevertheless, the Vikings never won two playoff games in one season while he was the quarterback, thus the playoff ceiling. He's never been the same since his injury.

28. Byron Leftwich (Bucs, 2003) - Just replace the three names above with Byron and you have the same description. At times, when the schedule was easy and when Fred Taylor and co. had it together, he had it together. But even then, a deep playoff run was out of the question. As recently as last year, he looked good with a championship-caliber Steeler team, but with the Bucs, we see what happens when the talent around him doesn't match up.

27. Troy Smith (Ravens, 2007) - Troy is the one guy on this tier who could move way up if he got the chance. Should've started for Baltimore last year, but his sickness gave Flacco a shot. I liked Smith better than most coming out of college and I still think he can be a good starter in the NFL.

26. Shaun Hill (49ers, 2002) - Shaun Hill has been maxing out his potential this year so far with the 49ers. If all goes well, he could take them to the divisional round, but his talent still rests well within the playoff ceiling range.

Eight average men

25. Jason Campbell (Redskins, 2005) - Campbell went 5 or 6 games last year without an interception out of the gate. He's always had below average (and overpaid) talent around him. Although nothing special, given the right circumstances I could see him moving up two tiers one day. He should've been happy when he heard Snyder was trying to trade him; with Snyder in charge, the situation in Washington will never be good.

24. Jake Delhomme (Panthers, 1997) - Our second QB on the list to start a Super Bowl (and lose), Delhomme has captained a lot of winning teams in Charlotte. He's been melting down in recent months, but Kurt Warner has done that and bounced back as much as anyone. He still has the confidence and admiration of his teammates, and I'm willing to give him a few more weeks before bumping him down to "not quite dead yet" status. Once again, its a sad state of QB play in the league when the 24th best option is Jake Delhomme.

23. David Garrard (Jaguars, 2002) - It's funny how fast the media likes to turn on quarterbacks. In 2007 Garrard was thought of as a top 15 QB. Suddenly he's a never-was. The Jaguars have shown some life the last couple weeks, which to me proves that Garrard belongs not in the trash heap or the throne room, but somewhere in the middle.

22. Chad Pennington (Dolphins, 2000) - Pennington may never play again, so this ranking is probably moot. But at his best Pennington was a smart and slithery QB with strong leadership skills. Theoretically, if he can still play, there's no reason those qualities should have faded.

21. Jeff Garcia (Free agent, 1994 CFL/1999 NFL) - Jeff Garcia consistently outplays everyone he replaces. He got the shaft in Oakland. His worst quality is that he's getting quite old, which isn't good for a short QB who makes good use of his athleticism.

20. Kerry Collins (Titans, 1995) - Our list's third Super Bowl QB, Collins also lost the big game in his lone appearance. Opinions will range on Collins and his ability throughout his career, but nowadays he relies solely on accuracy and good decision making, which could help him keep a job for a couple more seasons, especially under a conservative coach like Jeff Fisher.

19. Matt Cassel (Chiefs, 2005) - Cassel is paid better than the #18 man on this list, but was only able to take the formerly 18-1 Patriots to an 11-5 record despite an incredibly easy schedule. The results in KC haven't been good, but the talent around him ain't great either. The college backup's grade currently stands at incomplete.

18. Kyle Orton (Broncos, 2005) - I will never understand why the Bears waffled back and forth between Orton and Grossman for so long. At every opportunity, Orton outplayed the 2003 first round pick. At the very least, one can't deny that Orton is a likable guy who makes good decisions, which are really two of a quarterback's most important qualities. Also, I like Kyle Orton because he looks like a player from the 30s, slingin' touchdowns to Don Hutson.

The Young Stars

17. Joe Flacco (Ravens, 2008) - The star sophomore has taken the next step this season. His game-killing interception in the AFC Championship game likely haunting him, I don't expect a repeat of that kind of mistake this season. No sophomore slump in sight.

16. Matt Ryan (Falcons, 2008) - I was skeptical of Ryan's abilities before the season and expected a sophomore slump. Flaws have shone through but Ryan is clearly the real deal and will lead the Falcons for a long time.

Cagey veterans

15. Matt Hasselbeck (Seahawks, 1998) - Until a couple weeks ago, I always thought this guy's name was spelled "Hasselback." Amazing. I have no idea what "cagey" veterans means, but all five of these guys have been around for a while and can still get it done. They're all at turning points in their careers, too; they could maintain their skill for a few more seasons, move to elite status, or fall down the ladder. Although Hasselbeck is unlikely to be a star again, he was a top-5 QB for a few years and if not for the anonymity of Seahawks players the many injuries they've sustained lately, he'd be thought of more highly. Hasselbeck has been to a Super Bowl and lost, making mistakes at a couple key moments at Super Bowl XL following questionable penalties.

14. Tony Romo (Cowboys, 2003) - Although he's only been starting since 2006, Romo is older than people realize. He's taken a beating lately from Dallas fans, media, and former players. But to overlook Romo's talent is a big mistake, as he'll have a few great games this year that turn everyone's opinions around. Certainly, if he could prove that bad luck and not shaky confidence is to blame for late season / playoff collapses, he could move up this list.

13. Matt Schaub (Texans, 2004) - I still believe the Texans will have a top-five offense this year, and Shaub is a big reason why. The "cagey veterans" tier features the first six guys on the list who are capable of leading elite offenses, and Schaub is no different. His injury history holds him back from moving up a couple tiers.

12. Carson Palmer (Bengals, 2003) - Considered by many a top 3 QB back in 2005, Palmer has had trouble getting back to stardom since the injury. This ranking is based mostly on his past ability, as he's been jumpy and cautious this season.

11. Eli Manning (Giants, 2004) - As the 11th ranked QB on our list, Eli is the lowest ranked signal caller who has won a Super Bowl. That no lower ranked quarterbacks have won the big game demonstrates that an elite quarterback is a non-negotiable when building a Super Bowl-winning roster. Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer aside, the last 17 SB-winning QBs are Roethlisberger, Mannings, Brady, Warner, Elway, Favre, Young, and Aikman. There are rare exceptions, but if you want to win a Super Bowl, get an elite QB. Everyone's jumping on the Eli bandwagon again lately, but his opponents this year have been well below par. Eli is a guy who will always have some bad games throughout the year, but he has shown he's not intimidated by the big stage.

Old men who still got it

10. Kurt Warner (Cardinals, 1994) - Warner continues to look good this season, although some of us are waiting for the complete breakdown featuring tons of sacks and fumbles. Until that happens, he's a top-15 QB. As long as Warner has weapons, he's as good as anyone, although at his age, he could fall apart at any moment.

9. Brett Favre (Vikings, 1991) - Brett Favre is benefiting from a very talented roster, but with or without it this top-10 all-time QB is still a top-10 quarterback in the NFL today. The injuries from last year are not affecting him. The guy is an attention-whore and and it pains me to say it but he's still getting it done. Favre also won a ring, way back after the 1995 season.

8. Donovan McNabb (Eagles, 1999) - Not as old as Warner or Favre, but much older than the four guys directly in front of him, McNabb has been disrespected by fans, a diva WR and, most recently, his coach throughout the years. Nevertheless, McNabb has stayed steady as a top-10 QB through it all, and as everyone waits for him to fall of the cliff each new year, he keeps winning games and playing well, especially down the stretch in the regular season, with the Eagles going 6-2 in December the past two years and McNabb throwing for 11 TDs and only 2 interceptions during that span.

The future of the NFL

7. Jay Cutler (Bears, 2006) - The NFL should pay close attention to the three guys on this tier, because the NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and the three guys in this tier, along with one or two guys from the "Rising stars" and "Question marks with potential" tiers will be the face of the league six years from now. I believe Cutler will always be stuck at the bottom of that elite tier, due mostly to poor leadership skills. Outside of that abortion of a first game against Green Bay, he has impressed me a lot, avoiding sacks by getting rid of the ball quickly while avoiding interceptions by always making the right decision and an accurate throw. At the end of this season, Denver may think it got the best deal in trading Cutler for Orton and picks. But eight years from now, Orton will be lucky to be playing while Cutler will be one of the league's ten best players.

6. Aaron Rodgers (Packers, 2005) - Brett Favre may have beaten the Packers, but Green Bay shouldn't regret their decision a year and a half ago to go with Rodgers over the legend. Rodgers has quietly put up great numbers since he got the starting job. He even put up great numbers against Minnesota despite poor play by his offensive line. Minnesota better take their wins now, because when Favre retires for good or runs out of gas, Aaron Rodgers will slap them silly twice a year for the next decade, Peterson or no Peterson.

5. Philip Rivers (San Diego, 2004) - As a fan, I really dislike Philip Rivers. I dislike his accent and his attitude and his smacktalk. So it pains me to say this, but I believe that by 2016 Rivers will be considered the unchallenged best quarterback in the NFL. Manning will be 40, Brady 39 and Brees 37 (all three will likely still be playing but not at the same level they are now). Roethlisberger will likely be out of the league by then, at age 34. Unless Matt Ryan or Stafford or someone like that surprises me, I think Rivers will be the NFL's #1 star by then. For now, he has to settle in behind two of the top 10 QBs of all time (as well as a couple others who will likely make the Hall of Fame). But eventually he'll surpass them all.

The Anomaly

4. Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers, 2004) - There is no better player to spark up a debate on than Ben Roethlisberger. His stats are rarely overwhelming. He's started the same number of games as Eli Manning, but has been sacked 80 more times. He may never throw for 4,000 yards. Because of his playing style and reliance on physical skill, he will be lucky to have a career as long as a similar player like Steve McNair, whose skill eroded considerably the last 4 years of a 13 year career. And honestly, I just don't think Ben goes through progressions as quickly or effectively as other top five quarterbacks. He especially does not match up with the other top quarterbacks in the league when it comes to timing and scripted plays.

And yet, in many ways, Ben Roethlisberger is the best quarterback in the NFL. He's on the same Super Bowl pace as Tom Brady. He has turned into a real leader on the field. He is not shaken by the big moment. He is by far the hardest quarterback in the league to take down. He is the best improviser in the NFL. As Collinsworth noted in week one, he has the NFL's best and most often used pump fakes. The time between the moment he decides where to throw the ball and the moment the ball leaves his hand is near nilch. Although his reads are a little slow, he creates enough time to get through them and makes good decisions. He's an accurate passer. He's a great play caller (much better than his coordinator). He makes a half dozen plays every game that would be impossible for anyone else. In short, Ben Roethlisberger is unquestionably the most exciting player in the NFL, and one more Super Bowl win away from a Hall of Fame spot.

As a Steeler fan, I would not trade Ben Roethlisberger for any of the three guys in front of him on this list. He is our guy and he is a Steeler. The top three quarterbacks in the league would still be great as a Steeler in our offense, but not as good as Ben is. On the flip side, I think Ben would look worse under center in New Orleans or Indianapolis. He just isn't that "drop back, read the play in a half second, throw the ball to a spot" kind of quarterback. He shouldn't have to be. He's great how he is and he's one of the most unique players in football. He won't last to 35 years old in the league due to his playing style, but for the next six years I'd take him over anyone.

Cream o' Crop

3. Tom Brady (Patriots, 2000) - Brady looked timid and rusty this year until this past week, but his "drop" to #3 is more about the two guys in front of him who have played well rather than Brady himself. He has said he'd like to play until he's 40, which is 7 or 8 more years, and I could see that. Tom Brady personifies the qualities of good decisions, fast thinking and accuracy that a quarterback needs. He's easy to hate if you're not a Patriot fan because he plays up the popped collar persona and things always seem to go right for him. In 2001 when the Patriots won the Super Bowl, Brady really only belonged in the "Average" category, or perhaps at best "Rising star." Since then he's won over all critics and will certainly go down as one of the 10 best quarterbacks of all time.

2. Drew Brees (Saints, 2001) - Remember before the 2004 season, when the Chargers were the worst organization in the NFL, we had trouble finding 4 wins on their upcoming schedule and Drew Brees was only keeping the seat warm for Philip Rivers? That seems like a long time ago now. Brees proved his talent, ended up in New Orleans and has never looked back. Brees plays for the best offense in the NFL and you could add him to 10 other NFL teams and instantly make them the best pro offense in the world. Brees makes the right decisions faster than anyone, throws accurately and leads on and off the field. Those are the only three quarterback qualities that matter; everything else is icing.

1. Peyton Manning (Colts, 1998) - The more things change, the more they stay the same. There have been arguments for five years that Brady is better, but no one argues that now. There will be (fair) arguments that Brees is better over the next 3-4 years, but don't believe it.

Imagine that aliens investigate our planet looking to take over, but they mistake NFL quarterbacks as the leader of the U.S.A. instead of politicians (not hard to believe, surprisingly). So they create a robo-human in a lab that has all the ability, work ethic and intangibles to be the perfect NFL quaterback. The result would be Peyton Manning.

Manning knows more than any other quarterback. He makes less mistakes than any other quarterback. He is the best ever at making defenders look stupid. He is the most accurate passer in the league and will never be outworked. He has proven that early playoff struggles were bad luck by winning a Super Bowl and taking down the Patriots along the way. He is on his way to a 4th league MVP award.

Peyton Manning has been the best quarterback in the NFL since at least 2003 and is still the best today. Favre better add to every (positive) career stat he currently owns, because Manning will own them all eventually. When we look back during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Manning will be in the conversation with Baugh, Graham, Unitas, Montana and Marino for best ever. Until then, he'll have to settle for #1 on this list.

Steelers lead league in passing stats.

Don't look now, but Steelers lead the league in passing and receiving yards.

Hines Ward tops all receivers with 599 yards, while Ben Roethlisberger leads all passers with 1887 yards. Of course, the Steelers haven't had a week off yet (he is behind only Peyton Manning in yards/game), and the passing defenses the Steelers have played are ranked 13, 14, 23, 28, 29, and 32 in terms of yardage. But that doesn't project to change much next week, as the Vikings are 24th in passing yardage allowed in the league, giving up 248 yards per game. Ben is averaging 314.5. He is 4th in the league in passer rating, trailing three guys who have way better running games behind them than him.

The bigger surprise to me is Hines Ward. The man is 33 but looks as good as ever this season. One has to credit Mike Tomlin for giving him Wednesdays off to help prolong his career. One or two more seasons like this and Hines will make the Hall of Fame, which to me looked like a longshot before the season. The man deserves his due as one of the greatest Steelers of the post-70s era, right up there with Rod Woodson and Dermontti Dawson.

There is little hope of running the ball successfully against the Vikings, so look for Big Ben to log 40+ passes this week.

Iowa surprisingly more deserving of title game than Texas Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I have tickets to the Ohio State-Iowa game November 14 but can't go due to a class.

I was going with an Iowa fan and planned on cheering on the Hawkeyes, all the more now since Ohio State has less to play for than ever.

If Iowa wins out, they deserve to face the SEC champion in the National Championship game. I'm not predicting they'll win out, and if they stumble they deserve nothing. But if Iowa does go undefeated it will be an injustice when they're in the Rose Bowl rather than college football's National Championship Farce.

The SEC isn't college football's version of the NHL central division or anything, but it's clearly head and shoulders above the other conferences. Its winner, if it has one or fewer losses, should be penciled in right now as the #1 ranked team going into the college postseason.

Pushing Cincinnati and Boise State aside due to their conferences' inferiority, who would be the most deserving undefeated #2, Iowa or Texas?

Texas plays their entire division (OK, OK State, Baylor, A&M, and Tech) along with Colorado, Missouri and Kansas in the north. They'll add another Big 12 victory over Kansas, Kansas State or Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game. The rest of their schedule is filled out with non-BCS conference cupcakes, all of which they've already waxed.

Iowa, meanwhile, plays the hardest possible Big 10 schedule (i.e., they do not play Illinois or Purdue). That includes Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana. They too play non-BCS conference cupcakes, but only two. Their other two games were against the Big 12's Iowa State and the PAC-10's Arizona.

Are Iowa State or Arizona good? No. But neither is the worst team in their conference, either. And at least Iowa schedules real teams to play. Arizona actually borders on respectability.

If nothing else, Iowa deserves the championship bid just because they assembled a legitimate schedule.

There is no reason to think the Big 12 is any better than the Big 10 this season. The main argument would be that Texas lifts the conference, but if the point is to compare Texas to Iowa, they don't count. Yes, Illinois, Indiana and Purdue all belong in the MAC right now, but hey, Iowa only played one of them. Meanwhile, Texas feasts on Baylor, A&M and Kansas State.

Iowa's Big 10 oppoents have beaten Notre Dame, Arizona, Navy, Syracuse, and Iowa State this year. That's roughly equivalent to Texas' Big 12 opponents, who have beaten Georgia, Ole Miss, Illinois, Wake Forest and Duke. That's the same number of out-of-conference BCS conference (or relevant independent) wins, and if you played those teams against each other 1 through 5 high school tennis style, the teams the Big 10 beat would likely go 4-1.

The other argument for the Big 12 is that they did better in bowl games last year than the Big 10. Obviously true, but Iowa can't be blamed for that because they crushed South Carolina last year in the Outback Bowl.

If you want a "legit" argument for Texas, it's that they've earned the right to be there because they should have been declared co-national champions last year. But that's the problem with FBS. I could tell you that God told me to vote Iowa State number one and no one could tell me that's not right.

Until the beauty pageant ends and an objective system takes over, stick with FCS like John, or use this simple formula: Team with best record is better, but in case of tie, go with team who played actual BCS conference schools. By this measure, Iowa wins by two.

Pats cut Galloway, trade in works? And Predictions review

Joey Galloway has been cut by the Patriots.

Three others have been cut as well, and people are wondering whether the Patriots are setting up a trade, with ProFootballTalk throwing Shawne Merriman's name out there. (If Rodney Harrison were still with the team, perhaps their HGH dealer could've been used to help bring Shawne into the fold).

I would like to point everyone to my regular season predictions, not because I made any good predictions but because I lamented about how everyone loves every Patriot personnel move, even the dumb ones.

Fred Taylor is injured (which shouldn't be a surprise) and Joey Galloway is unemployed. Richard Seymour just played a key role in beating the Eagles.

I know it seems silly to criticize the Patriots since they just won a game 69-0, but as Joe Torre would say, that only counts as one win. The Patriots are far from the Colts and Saints of the NFL world right now.

By the way, those playoff predictions weren't bad. I missed out on the Giants and Broncos. But who didn't miss out on the Broncos? And the Giants sill have plenty of time for a late-season collapse, while the Eagles always play better later in the year. I predicted 3rd-place finishes for both the Jets and Ravens, and while that looked dumb at first, the tables have now turned.

Clearly my Panthers playoff pick was a mistake, but look at what I saw that few did: The Bengals in the playoff race, the Saints as the best team in the NFC, the 49ers with a division lead, and the Titans being bad. And I still think the Texans and Eagles can come through for me.

Obviously the Aaron Smith injury hurts the Steelers chances. If had to re-pick now it'd be hard to pick against Peyton.

Home Coming Weekend Monday, October 19, 2009

Homecoming was phenomenal. Unfortunately, as this is a football blog, I cannot go into too much detail about Friday Nights Hockey game. However, I cannot resist thanking Boston University defense man Eric Gryba who scored the final goal of the night, snapping a 2-2 tie. In spite of Gryba scoring the deciding goal in a 3-2 game, everyone else is giving UMass forward Will Ortiz credit. Some stupid rule about pucks you knock into your own net not counting for your stats. Don't worry Eric, I know you scored the game winning goal and I will do my best to make sure everyone else does.

The football game had a lot to live up to and it did not disappoint. The Wildcats scored real quick on a 50+ yard touchdown bomb to a WR Scott Sicko. Meanwhile, UMass scored on 2 of its last three possessions of the half to make the score 10-7. After Julian Tally caught a touchdown pass to take the lead, he had the most over the top celebration ever. He was mobbing his teammates jumping up and down and hooting and hollering and many of the UMass players joined him in this. You would have thought they had won the Super Bowl, if not accomplished much more with that catch.

If I were a UNH fan, I would have been quite upset by the whole display. Thankfully, I am not a UNH fan and I instead enjoyed it. I must admit I was surprised he wasn't flagged. But as I always say, the ref knows better than I do when to flag people. He's the professional, I'm just a nobody in the stands. If he said Talley wasn't celebrating excessively, who am I to question him?

Reading the game notes, it turns out it was Talley's first TD reception. After he calmed down, Havens went over to shake his hand, and Talley wouldn't shake it. Instead, he grabbed Havens and lifted him up 3 feet in the air.

The teams went in the half with the good guys leading 10-7. This is my first year as a season ticket holder, and I do love my seats. However, sometimes my section is quiet. If the defense needs help on third down and wants crowd noise, they're getting it from me and maybe two other people. Then the UMass Minuteman Marching Band comes out and everyone goes nuts. It's confusing. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the band. But the defense needs noise. The band doesn't. The 20 people who showed up from UNH were making more noise of UMass 3rd downs than the 13,000+ UMass fans were on UNH third downs. My friend and I decided to come up with a game plan to change this.

A man a few rows above me said he recognized us from the hockey game the night before. Once the band left the field, we used the rest of half time to practice a time tested chant at the University of Massachusetts. The man and his two sons would point at us and yell "U!" as loud as they could. My friend and I would point back at them and yell "MASS!" as loud as we could and the process repeats. We continued these shenanigans at the start of the third quarter and also would scream like there was no tomorrow when the Minutemen were on defense, especially on third down. Slowly but surely, people started joining in with us. Instead of 3 people, we had 5, then 10, then 20 people screaming. Other sections were doing similar things.

The University of New Hamsphire tied the game up in the third quarter in spite of all our noise. Then Havens threw interceptions on back to back series and that Sicko guy caught another TD to take the lead in the fourth quarter to make the score 17-10 bad guys. UMass answered with a field goal to cut the lead to 4.

At some point in time, the UMass team realized the crowd needed some encouragement. Senior Safety Jeremy Miles was injured in the first half of the game. I think he had a concussion judging by the fact that when he got up and tried to walk off the field, he looked like he was drunk. You could tell he had no clue what was going on or where he even was and trainers had to guide him off the field. From how long he was on the trainers table, I can only imagine he had no idea for quite a while. Around this time, Miles came over to the crowd and started waving a towel and moving his hands in the air encouraging everyone to make noise. Everyone started screaming. Up until that point, it was the loudest I've heard the place this year. Last year's Delaware game might have been a tad louder. I don't know. The defense forced UNH to punt.

UMass got the ball back and Jon Hernandez, once again playing for an injured Tony Nelson, broke a 42 yard run for a touchdown. I swear I called it. You can ask my friend Rob. I knew he was due. Game 1, no long TD. Game 2 58 yard TD against Albany. Game 3 no long TD. Game 4 36 yard TD against Stony Brook. Game 5 no long TD. It doesn't take a Master of Mathematics to realize pretty much all even games, he has a long TD run. Odd ones, not so much. But who cares? This was an even numbered game, and Hernandez made it 20-17 UMass.

When the defense took the field everyone on the UMass bench was over at the crowd screaming at us to scream at them. Havens looked like a mad man jumping up and down. I usually sit to not block the people's view behind me, but when your starting quarterback does that you have to out jump and out shout him. It's a rule. I can't take the credit for standing either. The father who I was doing the "U" "MASS" thing with started yelling at me to stand, and I admit he was right. Most of the section joined us. McGuirk has metal benches, so people were not only screaming but also pounding on the benches. It was the new loudest I've heard the stadium this year. UMass got the ball back again and drove down the field and added on a field goal to make it 23-17 with under 2 minutes left. Good things happen when you make noise on defense.

Of course, as the number 4 team in the nation, New Hampshire just wouldn't die quietly. They drove down the field, helped a lot by UMass penalties, and got inside the UMass 10 yard line with three seconds left. The UNH QB dropped back to pass, was met by a UMass defender in the backfield and threw the ball to the end zone in desperation. It was picked off by CB Kumar Davis who sealed the deal.

UMass is currently tied for first in the CAA North with UNH at 2-1 in conference play. Overall, they're 1.5 behind Richmond who is 4-0 in the conference and 0.5 behind Villanova who is 3-1 in CAA play.

Next week they're on the road against the Spiders. If UMass wins this game, they have the inside track at winning the conference. Everyone in the CAA would have at least 1 conference loss, and UMass would have beaten Richmond and UNH head to head. I feel like I say this every week about the Minutemen, but next week is the biggest game of the season. Stinks that it's on the road. But it's awesome that after last week's beating I'm downing more of the UMass Kool-aide!

Aaron Smith out for months, but Hood won't benefit much Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Steelers DE Aaron Smith could be out for months.

Now THIS is a blow. The Steelers have gotten by at 2-2 without Troy Polamalu, who returns this week to face the Browns. But history shows that losing Aaron Smith is a much worse prospect. In 2007, Tomlin's first year, Smith was lost for the season and the defense crumbled. He is one of the most underrated players in the NFL.

Normally, my prognosis would be 3-4 wins off the regular season total, putting us at 7, 8 or 9 wins on the season and a first round exit in the playoffs at best.

However, there is a wildcard: 2009 first round pick Ziggy Hood. The guys seems smart and is universally regarded as a good pick, yet he's hardly seen the field in 2009. With the injury, will he now be a starter? Unfortunately, no. Tomlin says the situation will be defensive end by committee.

I'm preparing to cover my eyes in horror. Hopefully Hood impresses this week in practice and gets the bulk of the playing time. He might not be "ready" in the eyes of the coaching staff, but he's the only backup with the talent to make something happen at that position.

Massachusetts@Delaware Post Game Saturday, October 10, 2009

The genius I am, I picked the right score. That's right. The Minutemen scored 27 points, just as I predicted. Unfortunately, Delaware didn't get the memo and scored 43 instead of 24. Jerks.

It's hard to say what went wrong. UMass couldn't get anything going. The first drive, they went all Mark Whipple on me and went for it on 4th and 2 from around the Delaware 30. Havens tried to hand off to Tony Nelson and the exchanged was less than optimal as it ended up on the turf. It was all Delaware after that.

Armando Cuko hit a 51 yard field goal into the wind at one point and time, so we have that going for us. I'm listening to the post game conference right now on the UMass radio network. If Kyle Havens is interviewed and has a confident quote, I'll let you know.

The thing that frustrates me most about this is UMass had a bye week last week. They had two weeks to prepare for the Blue Hens, and the Minutemen did absolutely nothing. Delaware did whatever it wanted to, whenever it wanted to, wherever it wanted to. It's one thing to lose. It's another thing to get completely blown out after a bye week. Delaware beat UMass 43-27. And believe me, the final score makes the game seem closer than it actually was.

Well, UMass is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the CAA. It's only gonna get a lot tougher from here.

Next weekend is homecoming at UMass, and it looks like we have two great (and by great I mean evil) opponents. Friday Night, the hockey team battles the defending National Champion Boston University Terriors. Saturday, the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (5-0, 2-0 CAA, 1-0 FBS) come to McGuirk. Hopefully they'll wash the terrible taste I currently have in my mouth.

Massachusetts @ Delaware Friday, October 9, 2009

Tomorrow, 6PM, at Tubby Field @ Delaware Stadium the maroon hot Massachusetts Minutemen will take the field against the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens.  

Delaware is a team that I hate, but in an extremely respectful way.  I almost like them, which is weird.  Their fan base is second to none in Division 1 when it comes to traveling to away games.  Note how I said Division 1.  I did not include FCS at the end.  That wasn't an oversight.  They have one of the most active boards of any FCS school, and unlike most other FCS schools, football is king.  I like that.  Every time someone talks about cutting sports at UMass, people (mainly basketball only fans) want to get rid of football.  I'm pretty sure they have the death penalty in Delaware for suggesting the school cuts football.  

Our current Vice President attended Delaware and played Freshman football there.  He ran into the team at an airport on the campaign trail last season, and told them he thought they'd kick Ohio State's ass in football.  Mind you, Delaware was TERRIBLE last season.  They went 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the conference.  And here we had a Vice Presidential Candidate claiming the Blue Hens would kick the Buckeyes' ass.  No one mocked that statement like they would have if Sarah Palin had said it, and there's a reason no on mocked it:  cause it's true (or people don't hate Biden like they do Palin...one of those reasons.  I'm not sure which).

As I was saying, the Hens had a terrible season last year after Joe Flacco (who?) graduated.  They came up to Amherst around the same time last year.  I don't remember the exact records, but both teams needed a win badly to have any shot at the playoffs, and UMass rose to the occasion, beating the Hens 17-7.  I was sitting on the visitors side a section away from the Blue Hen band and all their fans.  The sweetest moment of any UMass game in any sport I've ever been to was Jeremy Miles intercepting a pass and running it back for 50 yards to clinch victory.  The contrast of the ecstasy experienced by myself and other UMass fans and the agony of the Delaware fans was fabulous.  Then UMass played lousy for the rest of the season and also didn't make the playoffs, but at least they beat Delaware!

So now we have the same sort of scenario.  UMass is 3-1 (1-0 in CAA) and traveling to Delaware (3-2 overall, 1-2 in the CAA).  Delaware needs this game badly.  I think 4 losses are the most the committee will allow for playoff teams, and after this Delaware still has James Madison and Navy on their schedule.  As most 4 loss teams don't get in, this is about as must win as it gets for Delaware.  They gotta beat 2 of the 3, and UMass might be the easiest.  

On the UMass side, the schedule gets depressingly tough after this.  4 of the next 5 are against playoff teams, including @ defending national champion Richmond 10/24.  You have to think to go 2-2 against those 4 would be successful.  That means if they lose to Delaware and go 2-2 against the playoff teams, UMass would already be at 4 losses.  As most 4 loss teams don't get in, this is about as must win as it gets for UMass.  They gotta beat 3 of the 5, and Delaware's one of the easier ones.

I've heard so many great things about Delaware's Stadium and their fans.  They always sell out and they're loud.  It's suppose to be a great place to watch a game, but I can't get down there right now.  Hopefully next rotation when the two play down there.  Thankfully, Delaware apparently runs a live webcast of the game, which I will be watching.  I'm going with a close game, but the Minutemen win, 27-24.  

Roughing the Passer Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Ray Lewis is complaining about roughing the passer calls on Tom Brady which happened last Sunday. I dislike the Ravens, especially Ray Lewis, but I have to agree with him. I only saw one of the two plays (I went to see the Providence Bruins open up against the Springfield Falcons so I missed everything after the Raven got hurt) and when the flag was thrown, I objected. A Raven accidenctally brushed Brady's helmet, Brady fell down, a flag was thrown. It was a terrible call.

There's an article in yesterday's Boston Herald about it. Lewis is quoting as saying "People work too hard for that. And the embarrassing part about it is you see it constantly every week- emphasis on protecting the quarterback... It's embarrassing fo us to even keep a game going like that, give them momentum after they go three-and-out. We stop them, see a flag for a personal foul and Brady's laughing? That ain't no personal foul if you're still smiling...Did it lose the game? Absolutely not, but it's just embarrassing to go in there and play a game the way we did and you get that."

I agree with Ray Lewis about something having to do with football, and that makes me want to throw up.

I understand that it gets called both ways and will even out over the course of the season. In week 1, I complained about 2 terrible roughing the passer calls against New England. One could argue it's even now, but I still don't like it. The Herald had this quote from Brady, "(Quarterbacks are) holding the ball, we're unprotected. We're sitting back there defenseless. They deserved to get those calls..."

This is complete crap. The QB has at least 5 linemen to block for him. Many times there are tight ends and backs which stay in pass protection too. In those cases, more than half the offense is devoted to protecting the QB.

(In case you are wondering, disagreeing with Brady about football is fine in my mind. If I were disagreeing with Bledsoe, then I'd want to throw up.)

Ray Lewis had another quote in the Herald, which I think was probably either a joke or else said in frustration and wasn't meant to be taken literally "That's not football and that's the embarrassing part about it... You can't stop drives like that, you can't throw flags and say 'Oh, you touched the quarterback.' Put flags on them, put a red buzzer on them, so if we touch them, they're down."

Like I said, I don't think he literally meant the part about flags and buzzers, but it's where we are heading. I'm told the Patriots got screwed in 1976 against the Raiders in the playoffs on a bogus Roughing the Passer call against Sugar Bear Hamilton. I only know about this because it was the standard comeback to any Raider fan who complained about the tuck rule.

I've seen this "terrible" roughing the passer call, and by today's standards, it was blatent. Hamilton probably would be fined on top of the penalty. Do Google searches about it, and it's on a few "Worst call ever" lists. If you get to the ref's wikipedia page, you'll see this was the most contreversial call he ever made. It was so bad, apparently the NFL wouldn't let him ref Patriot games anymore.

In light of this, I wonder where we'll be in 33 years. Will these hits on Brady look terrible to my children? If I show them a tape, will they be up screaming about what a dirty team the Ravens must have been?

Back from the Dead Monday, October 5, 2009

Sorry about not posting last week. There's nothing more devastating than losing to a team from Ohio. I didn't even think about football last week because it was too painful. (Luckily that only happens about once every three years.)

The Steelers were up 28-0 in the third quarter. I was getting ready to write about Mike Tomlin, and the enormous gap between he and guys like Norv Turner and Wade Philips. When the Steelers are about to fall apart and they lose to the Bengals, Tomlin gets angry, his players take on his attitude, and they come out and take care of business. When Mendenhall is blowing his assignments in practice, Tomlin benches him, he responds, starts the next week and runs for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

When times get tough, what do Norv Turner and Wade Philips do? Do they really have credibility with the players to fire them up? Or do they just sit in meetings looking a little bit groggier?

Tomlin's best asset as a coach is not his youth or skin color. It's that he does two things few coaches can do in tandem: he connects with the players personally but it couldn't be more clear who's in charge. Once someone asked Tomlin in a press conference how he thinks his players would evaluate his work so far. He said, "It's their job to perform. It's MY job to evaluate." Can you imagine Wade Philips saying such a thing? The press would laugh at him. (And yes, that's partly Jerry Jones' fault.)

The Chargers made it interesting, nonetheless. Phillip Rivers is a great quarterback. With a couple minutes to go it was suddenly 35-28. Why have the Steelers consistently outplayed the competition this year but had to endure comebacks and two losses? Here's my explanations, in order of their impact on the team this season:

--Opponents. The Steelers have played four good teams in the Titans, Bears, Bengals and Chargers. I picked all but the Titans to make the playoffs and that looks like a solid prediction right now. The Titans will be something like 7-9. Worst of all, though, we've faced three good quarterbacks in a row: Cutler was impossible to sack and made no bad decisions in Week 2, and both Palmer and Rivers exploded for points at the end of the game. Both will put up a lot of good numbers this year. Looking forward to Stafford and Anderson the next couple weeks.

--Polamalu's injury. We need him back. This really accounts for both the late defensive struggles and the lack of big plays (sacks and interceptions). Our defense has played disciplined but we need Polamalu to cause havoc.

--Back luck. Santonio's mistake led to a pick-six last week. Stefan Logan not getting a whistle for stopped forward progress on the punt return when five Chargers were literally holding the 5'6" returner up so that they could strip the ball. A couple bad spots on the turf in Chicago. The Steelers have just had bad luck. This is no big deal; they'll have a mix of bad luck and good luck in the future.

--Playcalling. Arians called a great game on offense tonight but he was a big reason we lost the previous two weeks.

As Collinsworth kept mentioning, Chris Kemoeatu was a beast last night. I'm now optimistic about Mendenhall, as he did break a lot of tackles (haven't seen Wille do that in about a year), but the credit really goes to the O-Line. Unfortunately, not all run defenses are as pathetic as San Diego's.

By the way, San Diego missing the playoffs would be very satisfying. However, I still don't think Denver can survive their schedule. We'll find out soon as the teams play in two weeks.

Big Ben played great. I agree with Collinsworth: He's now a solid #4 behind Manning, Brees and Brady. I'll put Rivers at #5. Maybe later this week I'll post full quaterback ratings.